Clippers at Raptors
The Toronto Raptors seek to record consecutive wins for the first time since mid-January when they host the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday. The Raptors dropped eight of their previous 10 contests before posting a 103-95 victory at Brooklyn on Sunday.
Kyle Lowry was the driving force with his ninth career triple-double (15 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists) as Toronto once again played without leading scorer DeMar DeRozan, who has missed seven of the last eight games with an ankle issue. Jonas Valanciunas led the Raptors with 22 points and Terrence Ross added 17 to help the squad salvage the finale of its three-game road trip. The Clippers are one contest through a five-game trek of their own, having dropped a 107-102 decision in Boston on Sunday - their sixth loss in eight outings since a seven-game winning streak. Blake Griffin and Jamal Crawford scored 23 points apiece in the losing effort as Los Angeles fell to 4-6 on the road against Eastern Conference opponents.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, Prime Ticket (Los Angeles), TSN (Toronto)
ABOUT THE CLIPPERS (31-20): Los Angeles is trying to tread water with point guard Chris Paul sidelined, and it doesn't help when starting guards Austin Rivers and J.J. Redick combined to shoot 3-of-17 - including 0-of-7 from 3-point range - as they did Sunday. Veteran Raymond Felton picked up some of the slack with 16 points in 25 minutes off the bench, but the league's fifth-ranked shooting team entering the day (47 percent) finished at 41.7 percent. Griffin is averaging 27.7 points over his last three games and scored 26 on 10-of-17 shooting in a 123-115 home win over Toronto on Nov. 21.
ABOUT THE RAPTORS (31-21): Lowry was battling through an illness Sunday and also needed four stitches after cutting his arm on a camera, but he still played 39 minutes for his short-handed team. Forward Patrick Patterson sat out the contest due to a bruised left knee and is day-to-day, while DeRozan participated in portions of practice over the weekend. Lowry and DeRozan combined for 52 points, 14 assists and 10 boards in the eight-point loss at Los Angeles.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Lowry missed all five of his 3-point attempts Sunday and remains two behind franchise leader Morris Peterson (801).
2. Rivers is 0-of-11 from beyond the arc over a three-game span.
3. Both teams have lost five straight games in the second half of back-to-backs.