Raptors hold off Magic for fifth straight win
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}DeMar DeRozan led six Raptors in double figures with 17 points to go with eight rebounds as Toronto held on for a 93-90 victory over the Orlando Magic on Friday at Air Canada Centre.
Jose Calderon netted 13 and handed out nine assists, while Terrence Ross went 3-of-5 from beyond the arc for 13 points for the Raptors, who have won five straight for the first time since Jan. 22-31, 2010. Ed Davis, Amir Johnson and Alan Anderson all contributed 10 points in the triumph.
Arron Afflalo scored a game-high 26 points and added five assists, while Nikola Vucevic donated 16 points and 12 boards for the Magic, who had a four- game winning streak snapped.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Gustavo Ayon posted a double-double with 12 points and 13 boards and E'Twuan Moore chipped in with 12 points in the setback.
Trailing 91-80 with 4:13 to play, the Magic ripped off 10 straight points, capped by a deep trey by Jameer Nelson, to pull within 91-90 with 55.9 seconds remaining.
DeRozan missed a jumper on the next Toronto possession, but Johnson grabbed the rebound and was fouled by Ayon with 42.6 ticks left.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Johnson calmly sank both free throws to make it 93-90 and after another DeRozan miss, Afflalo grabbed the long rebound with 10.7 seconds remaining and called for a timeout.
J.J. Redick caught the ensuing inbound pass at the top of the arc and fired the potential game-tying 3-ball up but missed. Moore came up with the rebound for Orlando with 6.9 ticks left, but the Magic could not get another shot off.
"We wanted to foul, but in that scramble it got lost," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. "We're learning to execute late and we found a way to win."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Holding a 10-8 edge, the Raptors put some space between themselves and the Magic with a 7-2 spurt to go ahead 17-10 with 2:20 to play in the opening quarter.
Anderson sank a trio of free throws to give the home team a 20-12 lead with just over a minute to go and they held a 20-15 edge after one quarter.
Ross buried a trey and Anderson followed with a nice finger roll to push the Toronto lead to 25-15 early in the second quarter.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A pair of free throws by Afflalo cut the deficit to four, but the Raptors used a 10-3 burst, capped by a Linas Kleiza three, to open the advantage to 35-24 with 5:10 to play before halftime.
However, the Magic responded with 10 straight points to shave the deficit to 35-34 with 2:25 to go, but were never able to get over the hump as the Raptors led 42-39 at the break.
Toronto stayed in front for the duration of the third quarter, pulling away in the latter stages of the session.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Leading by four with 1:39 to go in the third, John Lucas capped a quick 7-0 burst with a corner 3-ball and the Raptors led 71-62 heading to the final period.
"I think we did a lot of good things, but we couldn't put the ball in the basket early," Magic coach Jacque Vaughn said. "We persevered and gave ourselves a chance to win."
Game Notes
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Orlando had won four of the last six meetings between the teams ... Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas exited the game in the first quarter with a broken right ring finger ... Magic forward Glen Davis missed the game due to a shoulder injury ... Toronto shot 40.7 percent from the floor and 19-of-21 from the free throw line.