DeRozan inspires Raptors, Spurs win in NBA

Mar 24, 2017 - 6:25 AM DeMar DeRozan scored 40 points - doing that back-to-back for the first time in his career - and Toronto clamped down defensively in the final three quarters to beat Miami 101-84 in the NBA on Thursday night (Friday AEDT).

Toronto have now won 19 games this season after trailing by at least 10 points, more than any team in the NBA.

"It talks about toughness, heart," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. "Our give-a-crap level is pretty high, and it's one of those things where when you count us out, we find a way. My thing is just find five men who are going to play hard."

Playing with 13 stitches in his right hand and some padding and bandages to protect the injury, Hassan Whiteside had 16 points and 14 rebounds for Miami. Whiteside seemed a bit limited - his first two shots were rather gentle dunks, not his usual make-the-backboard-shake variety.

His injury situation even got worse: Whiteside sprained his left ankle late in the game.

"Very inspiring, just to see him out there battling," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

Even with one good hand at the start and one good ankle at the finish, Whiteside was one of Miami's lone offensive bright spots. Rodney McGruder and Goran Dragic each scored 13 for Miami, which shot 39 percent and tied its second-lowest scoring total of the season.

"No one's going to feel sorry for me," said Whiteside, who had a bag over his cut hand, two icepacks on his knees and a wrap on his newly injured ankle as he sat at his locker postgame.

DeRozan needed 38 shots to score 42 points against Chicago on Tuesday. He was much more effective in this one, shooting 14 for 25 from the field and 12 for 13 from the line.

"I was just trying to be aggressive and try to pick it up on the defensive end as well, not just trying to go up there scoring," DeRozan said. "We slowly started getting into it and started playing like we wanted to play."

Neither team moved in the Eastern Conference playoff standings. Toronto (43-29) remained in the No.4 spot, pulling within a half-game of No.3 Washington. Miami (35-37) stayed No.8, now just a game ahead of No.9 Chicago and No.10 Detroit.

In San Antonio, LaMarcus Aldridge scored 23 points and Kawhi Leonard added 19 as the Spurs beat Memphis in a possible first-round playoff preview.

Australian point guard Patty Mills scored 15 points to go with five assists for the Spurs.

San Antonio opened a four-game homestand by moving two games behind idle Golden State for the league's best record. The Spurs (55-16) close the homestand against the Warriors (57-14) next Wednesday.

Elsewhere on Friday (AEDT), Dallas Mavericks beat Los Angeles Clippers 97-95, Portland beat New York 110-95 and Brook Lopez scored 19 points and K.J. McDaniels had a season-high 16 as Brooklyn beat Phoenix to give the Nets consecutive victories for the first time this season.

Source: AAP