Warriors get past Raptors in fifth straight win
TORONTO -- Stephen Curry scored 35 points, including 14 in the third quarter, and added seven assists as the Golden State Warriors defeated the Toronto Raptors 127-121 on Wednesday night for their fifth win in a row.
The Warriors led by 18 points in the fourth quarter before the Raptors chipped away to reduce the lead to six with a minute to play on a 3-pointer by Terrence Ross.
Ross was fouled by Curry attempting a 3-point shot with 13.6 seconds left in the game. Ross converted all three free throws to cut the lead to four.
Klay Thompson, who finished with 14 points, made two free throws with 12.3 seconds left and the Warriors led by six. Ross, who finished with 11 points, made two free throws with five seconds.
Kevin Durant had 30 points, nine rebounds and six assists for the Warriors (9-2), who gave the Raptors (7-4) their second straight loss. Draymond Green had 11 points and Andre Iguodala contributed 10 for the Warriors.
DeMar DeRozan led the Raptors with 34 points, the ninth time in 11 games that he has scored at least 30.
Kyle Lowry added 24 points for Toronto with Jonas Valanciunas scoring 12 points and grabbing eight rebounds. Cory Joseph chipped in with 14 points off the bench and Pascal Siakam added 10 points and nine rebounds for the Raptors.
Durant made a 3-point shot at the buzzer to end the first quarter with the Raptors, who led by as many as 10 points, lead 38-34.
The Warriors took a 41-40 lead on another 3-pointer by Durant with 8:51 to play in the second quarter. Valanciunas had the Raptors back on top by four on a turnaround jumper with 7:07 left. Curry's 3-pointer put the Warriors back on top at 50-49 with 4:39 to play in the half.
Lowry and DeRozan picked up technicals with 1:37 to play in the first half, which ended with Golden State leading 66-53 with 19 points from Durant and 17 from Curry. Valanciunas led Toronto with 12 points.
The Warriors had a 19-point lead early in the third quarter. The Raptors trimmed the lead back to 13 before Thompson restored the 18-point advantage with a 3-pointer with 5:40 left.
DeRozan's pull-up jumper with 3:47 to go in the quarter cut the margin to 10. When Ross made a 3-pointer, the lead was down to five. Curry's 3-pointer closed out the third quarter and gave Golden State a 95-86 lead.
Golden State opened an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter on Durant's hook shot.
Patrick McCaw's 3-pointer from the corner with 5:02 left in the game gave Golden State a 116-110 lead. Curry added two free throws to increase the lead to 18.
NOTES: The Raptors and the Brooklyn Nets are the only teams this season to face the Cleveland Cavaliers, the NBA champions last season, and the Warriors, the finalists last season and the champions in 2014-15, in back-to-back games this season. The Raptors lost to the Cavaliers 121-117 in Cleveland on Tuesday. ... Raptors F Demarre Carroll, who was rested the two previous games as he returns from offseason knee surgery, was back in action Wednesday. ... The Warriors won both games against the Raptors last season. The teams meet again Dec. 28 at Oracle Arena. ... The Warriors play the second game of their four-game trip Friday against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. ... The Raptors open a five-game trip Friday when they play the Denver Nuggets at the Pepsi Center.