Rockets 88, Raptors 85
ROCKETS 88, RAPTORS 85: Kyle Lowry carved up Toronto's interior defense with 26 points as Houston improved to 15-4 at home.
Toronto lost its fifth straight game inside the Toyota Center - and fell to 3-14 all-time in Houston in losing its fourth in a row on the road.
Lowry constantly attacked the paint on offense, scoring 11 of his points in the first half.
Toronto got off to a slow start, falling behind 27-15 after one quarter. The Raptors clawed their way back, pulling to within two points on a fastbreak layup from Linas Kleiza with just under a minute remaining.
Kleiza missed a 3-pointer that would have tied the game in the dying seconds of the fourth quarter.
DeMar DeRozan led the second-half charge for Toronto and finished with 17 points.
James Johnson had a solid game inside for the Raptors, thriving on the baby hook in the lane for 16 points and adding eight rebounds.
Luis Scola scored 15 points while Kevin Martin added 14 for the Rockets
GAME NOTEBOOK: Toronto missed nine of its first 11 shots. … The Raptors were 0 for 8 from 3-point range in the first half and finished 2 for 17. … Houston coach Kevin McHale gave Toronto coach Dwane Casey his first head coaching job while he was general manager in Minnesota in 2005. … Houston improved to 6-1 in games decided by five points or less this season.