Raptors 99, Nets 92
DeMar DeRozan scored 14 of his 18 points in the first quarter as the Toronto Raptors jumped out early and held on for a 99-92 victory over the visiting New Jersey Nets on Sunday evening.
Jerryd Bayless netted a team-high 19 and the Raptors (22-58) shot just under 66 percent in the first half en route to snapping a three-game losing streak.
Brook Lopez continued his fine scoring with 35 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Nets (24-56), who have lost nine of 11. The center has 101 points in his last three games and 94 in his last three contests against Toronto.
DeRozan, who entered averaging 26.4 points in his last five games, had his mid-range shot going in the opening quarter, hitting 6 of 7 as the Raptors took a 31-22 lead into the second.
Toronto pushed the margin to 19 at the half, 61-42. New Jersey cut it to 12 in the third before the Raptors halted the run with seven straight points, and the Nets couldn’t get it under double digits until three minutes remained.