Raptors 98, Magic 93
DeMar DeRozan finished with 28 points as visiting Toronto held off Orlando to maintain its lead atop the Atlantic Division standings.
Jonas Valanciunas added 20 points and nine rebounds for the Raptors, who remain 2 1/2 games ahead of Brooklyn after the Nets disposed of Minnesota 114-99. Kyle Lowry added 16 points but had six of Toronto's 15 turnovers.
Nikola Vucevic led the way with 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Magic, who hit a pair of 3-pointers in the final minute to make things interesting but ultimately fell short after Toronto forced an inbounds violation with 8.9 seconds remaining. Jameer Nelson and Victor Oladipo added 16 points apiece in defeat.
Toronto led by as many as 21 points early in the second half before the Magic stormed back, as Nelson reeled off 10 straight Orlando points late in the third quarter to help trim the Raptors' lead to nine. Consecutive 3-pointers from Oladipo and Tobias Harris helped make it a one-possession game with 9:59 remaining, but Lowry hit a pivotal 3-pointer and added a driving layup as part of a 11-2 run and Toronto fended off Orlando in a wild final minute.
The Raptors led by five after the first quarter but turned it on in the second frame as DeRozan racked up Toronto's first six points to make it a double-digit advantage. The end of the Raptors' bench took over from there, as Landry Fields, Steve Novak and Nando de Colo all had baskets in an 11-1 run that helped Toronto go into the break ahead 57-38.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Raptors PG Greivis Vasquez left in the first quarter after being struck in the face and returned in the second frame with five stitches to close a cut on his left cheekbone. ... The 19-point halftime lead is the largest Toronto has held in a road game this season. ... Toronto shot 26-of-27 from the free-throw line to counter an Orlando attack that shot 55.1 percent from the field.