Raptors 101, Heat 81
TORONTO -- Guard DeMar DeRozan scored 33 points and the Toronto Raptors extended their season-best winning streak to seven games on Friday night with a 101-81 victory over the Miami Heat.
It was the third straight game that DeRozan scored 30 or more points and the second time in a his career that he has accomplished that.
Guard Kyle Lowry added 15 points, forward Terrence Ross 13 and forward Luis Scola 12 for Toronto. Center Jonas Valanciunas had 13 rebounds and nine points.
Forward Chris Bosh led the Heat with 26 points and guard Dwyane Wade, a game-time decision because of a sore shoulder, added 22. Forward Justise Winslow had nine points and eight rebounds for Miami.
The Raptors (28-15) had not won seven games in a row since March 22-April 9, 2002, on their way to a franchise-record nine-game winning streak.
It was the fourth loss in a row for the injury-depleted Heat (23-21).
The Raptors led by as many as 20 points in the third quarter before the Heat cut the lead to nine in the fourth quarter.
DeRozan scored 15 points in the first quarter to pace the Raptors to a 31-20 lead. Bosh scored 10 first-quarter points for the Heat.
Scola hit a 3-point shot with 2:32 remaining in the second quarter to give the Raptors a 13-point lead. He scored on a cutting layup to increase the lead to 15 with 56.6 seconds left in the half and then beat the buzzer with a 3-pointer from the corner for a 60-44 Toronto lead at halftime.
DeRozan had 22 first-half points. Wade led the Heat with 13 points in the first half.
The Toronto lead reached 18 points when Scola scored on a hook shot to open the third quarter. He hit two free throws with 6:57 left in the quarter and the Raptors led by 20.
The Heat cut the lead to 11 with 2:27 to play in the third quarter, which ended with the Raptors leading 80-67.
After Wade missed two free throws with 9:26 to play, Lowry increased Toronto's lead to 14 points with a 3-pointer on the next possession.
Bosh made a layup with 4:07 to play to cut the margin to nine points, but Toronto forward Patrick Patterson responded with a 3-pointer.
With 2:53 left, Bosh made two of three free throws to reduce Miami's deficit to 10. Valanciunas answered with a layup and Lowry scored on a layup and added the free throw to boost the Raptors' lead back to 15. DeRozan's 3-pointer put Toronto up by 18 points.
NOTES: Raptors G Kyle Lowry and Heat G Dwyane Wade were voted as Eastern Conference starters for the NBA All-Star Game. ... Wade (sore right shoulder) was not expected to play Friday but warmed up and was in the starting lineup. He said the shoulder seems to be inflamed. He missed two of the previous four games with the problem. ... Heat F/C Chris Andersen (knee), F Luol Deng (eye), G Goran Dragic (calf), F Josh McRoberts (knee), C Hassan Whiteside (strained left oblique) and G Beno Udrih (neck) did not play. ... Friday was the third meeting of the season between the teams. They split the first two games in Miami. ... The Raptors play the fourth game of seven in a row at home Sunday against the Los Angeles Clippers. ... Miami will play the third game of five straight on the road in Chicago on Monday.