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Johnson, Toronto down slumping Cavs

Mar 11, 2013 - 1:56 AM Toronto, ON (Sports Network) - Amir Johnson registered 17 points and 16 rebounds as the Toronto Raptors defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers, 100-96, on Sunday.

Alan Anderson had a team-high 18 points, Kyle Lowry had 15 points and nine rebounds and DeMar DeRozan had 13 points for the Raptors, who came into the game off a 118-116 overtime loss to the Lakers.

"It was definitely an energy game," said Johnson. "Coach [Dwane Casey] said we had an excuse with the schedule, but we pulled it out."

Dion Waiters scored a game-high 21 points, C.J. Miles added 15 points and Tristan Thompson recorded a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who have lost four of their last five games.

The Cavaliers also lost point guard Kyrie Irving in third quarter when he collided with the Raptors' Jonas Valanciunas. He shot the resulting free throws with one hand, sinking the first but missing the second. Afterwards, he went to the locker room and did not return to the game. He finished with 12 points.

With Toronto down 95-94 with 52 seconds remaining, Lowry made a pair of free throws to give the Raptors a one-point edge. Then with 14 seconds to go, Lowry sank a 16-footer to put them up by a 98-95 score.

Waiters was then fouled by Landry Fields with four seconds left. He made his first free throw but missed the second, allowing DeRozan to grab the defensive rebound. DeRozan was fouled by Miles and made both of his free throws to put the game out of reach.

Entering the second quarter, Cleveland had a 27-20 lead. Miles would score 13 points in the period and later helped extend the Cavaliers' lead to 17 points, 50-33, with 3:46 left in the half.

However, the combination of Johnson, Lowry and DeRozan helped the Raptors outscore the Cavaliers by a 13-5 margin over the remainder of the half and cut the deficit to 55-46 at halftime.

In the third quarter, the Raptors locked down defensively, limiting the Cavaliers to 25 percent shooting that included 0-for-5 from three-point range.

Toronto ended the frame on a 10-2 spurt to grab a 79-74 advantage entering the fourth.

Game Notes

Waiters scored 13 points in the fourth quarter ... Toronto split the season series with Cleveland at 2-2... The Raptors have won five of their last seven games against the Cavaliers.