Tag Archive | "toronto"

DeRozan scores 23; Raptors rip apart Houston

Posted on 08 March 2012. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

THE CANADIAN PRESS

TORONTO — DeMar DeRozan poured in 23 points as the Toronto Raptors rode a rare offensive outburst to a 116-98 win over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night.

Linas Kleiza added 19 points while Jose Calderon had 17 points and 12 assists for the Raptors (13-26), who wrapped up a 2-2 homestand with one of their strongest games of the season.

Toronto set season highs in points and shooting percentage (59.2) while overcoming a shaky third quarter by dominating the weary Rockets over the final 12 minutes.

Leandro Barbosa chipped in with 15 points and Amir Johnson had 14 in front of an Air Canada Centre crowd of 14,597.

Chandler Parsons led the way with 17 points for the Rockets (21-19), who have dropped five straight games at the ACC and five in a row overall.

The Raptors torched Houston in a hot-shooting first half, but saw their momentum wane in the third quarter. A Johnson 17-footer with 7:20 remaining gave the Raptors their biggest lead of the night at 71-54, but Houston used a pair of runs — including a 7-0 stretch late in the quarter — to close to within five.

Kleiza’s three-pointer from the top of the arc with just over a minute remaining stemmed the surge, and the Raptors entered the fourth with an 82-76 edge.

Toronto rediscovered its offensive touch in a sensational final quarter. Barbosa drained a three-pointer from the left corner to put the Raptors up by nine, and a DeRozan layup off a Calderon feed with 5:22 remaining restored the double-digit lead.

Moments later, Barbosa finished off a 3-on-1 break with a layup and foul shot. The Rockets didn’t challenge the rest of the way, looking worn down one night after losing an overtime decision in Boston.

Toronto connected on nine of its first 12 shots to open up a 20-13 advantage, but the Rockets responded with a quarter-closing 11-4 run to draw even at 28-28. A Barbosa three-point play with 8:32 left extended the Toronto lead to five, and Barbosa hit a long jumper less than a minute later to cap a 13-4 run.

Toronto’s Johnsons provided the biggest highlight of the night, as James found Amir for an alley-oop dunk with 1:22 remaining just moments after Amir denied Luis Scola for his third block of the game.

Toronto set season highs in first-half points and field-goal percentage (64.9) on the way to a 58-46 advantage into the break. DeRozan led all scorers with 14 points while Calderon added 13.

.Notes: Raptors F/C Andrea Bargnani (calf) missed his 20th straight game Wednesday but will likely be back this weekend. Head coach Dwane Casey says Bargnani will need to get in at least two practices but expects the seven-footer to be back in the lineup Sunday against visiting Milwaukee. … Houston came into the game with the second-worst road record among NBA teams presently above .500. Only the L.A. Lakers (6-13) entered Wednesday with a worse mark away from home. … Rockets C Samuel Dalembert, a Montreal resident and a fixture of the men’s national team, had 14 points and six rebounds in 34 minutes.

That’s all for today.

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Toronto Raptors shoot lights out, beat Houston…

Posted on 08 March 2012. Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

James Bisson

The Canadian Press

DeMar DeRozan poured in 23 points as the Toronto Raptors rode a rare offensive outburst to a 116-98 win over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night.

Linas Kleiza added 19 points while Jose Calderon had 17 points and 12 assists for the Raptors (13-26), who wrapped up a 2-2 homestand with one of their strongest games of the season.

Toronto set season highs in points and shooting percentage (59.2) while overcoming a shaky third quarter by dominating the weary Rockets over the final 12 minutes.

Leandro Barbosa chipped in with 15 points and Amir Johnson had 14 in front of an Air Canada Centre crowd of 14,597.

Chandler Parsons led the way with 17 points for the Rockets (21-19), who have dropped five straight games at the ACC and five in a row overall.

The Raptors torched Houston in a hot-shooting first half, but saw their momentum wane in the third quarter. Johnson’s 17-footer with 7:20 remaining gave the Raptors their biggest lead of the night at 71-54, but Houston used a pair of runs — including a 7-0 stretch late in the quarter — to close to within five.

Kleiza’s three-pointer from the top of the arc with just over a minute remaining stemmed the surge, and the Raptors entered the fourth with an 82-76 edge.

Toronto rediscovered its offensive touch in a sensational final quarter. Barbosa drained a three-pointer from the left corner to put the Raptors up by nine, and a DeRozan layup off a Calderon feed with 5:22 remaining restored the double-digit lead.

Moments later, Barbosa finished off a 3-on-1 break with a layup and foul shot. The Rockets didn’t challenge the rest of the way, looking worn down one night after losing an overtime decision in Boston.

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DeRozan, Raptors smother Rockets

Posted on 08 March 2012. Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

DeMar DeRozan scored 23 points as the Toronto Raptors used a rare offensive outburst to beat the Houston Rockets 116-98 on Wednesday night in Toronto.

Linas Kleiza added 19 points while Jose Calderon had 17 points and 12 assists for the Raptors, who wrapped up a 2-2 homestand with one of their strongest games of the season. Toronto set season highs in points and shooting percentage (59.2) while overcoming a shaky third quarter by dominating the weary Rockets over the final 12 minutes.

Leandro Barbosa added 15 points and Amir Johnson had 14 for the Raptors. Chandler Parsons scored 17 points to lead the Rockets, who have dropped five straight in Toronto, and five in a row overall.

Gotta run!.

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DeRozan scores 23 as Raptors down Rockets, 116-98

Posted on 08 March 2012. Tags: , , , , , , ,

TORONTO DeMar DeRozan poured in 23 points as the Toronto Raptors rode a rare offensive outburst to a 116-98 win over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night.

Linas Kleiza added 19 points while Jose Calderon had 17 points and 12 assists for the Raptors (13-26), who wrapped up a 2-2 homestand with one of their strongest games of the season.

Toronto set season highs in points and shooting percentage (59.2) while overcoming a shaky third quarter by dominating the weary Rockets over the final 12 minutes.

Leandro Barbosa chipped in with 15 points and Amir Johnson had 14 in front of an Air Canada Centre crowd of 14,597.

Chandler Parsons led the way with 17 points for the Rockets (21-19), who have dropped five straight games at the ACC and five in a row overall.

The Raptors torched Houston in a hot-shooting first half, but saw their momentum wane in the third quarter. A Johnson 17-footer with 7:20 remaining gave the Raptors their biggest lead of the night at 71-54, but Houston used a pair of runs — including a 7-0 stretch late in the quarter — to close to within five.

Kleiza’s three-pointer from the top of the arc with just over a minute remaining stemmed the surge, and the Raptors entered the fourth with an 82-76 edge.

Toronto rediscovered its offensive touch in a sensational final quarter. Barbosa drained a three-pointer from the left corner to put the Raptors up by nine, and a DeRozan layup off a Calderon feed with 5:22 remaining restored the double-digit lead.

Moments later, Barbosa finished off a 3-on-1 break with a layup and foul shot. The Rockets didn’t challenge the rest of the way, looking worn down one night after losing an overtime decision in Boston.

Toronto connected on nine of its first 12 shots to open up a 20-13 advantage, but the Rockets responded with a quarter-closing 11-4 run to draw even at 28-28. A Barbosa three-point play with 8:32 left extended the Toronto lead to five, and Barbosa hit a long jumper less than a minute later to cap a 13-4 run.

Toronto’s Johnsons provided the biggest highlight of the night, as James found Amir for an alley-oop dunk with 1:22 remaining just moments after Amir denied Luis Scola for his third block of the game.

Toronto set season highs in first-half points and field-goal percentage (64.9) on the way to a 58-46 advantage into the break. DeRozan led all scorers with 14 points while Calderon added 13.

NOTES: Raptors F/C Andrea Bargnani (calf) missed his 20th straight game Wednesday but will likely be back this weekend. Head coach Dwane Casey says Bargnani will need to get in at least two practices but expects the 7-footer to be back in the lineup Sunday against visiting Milwaukee. … Houston came into the game with the second-worst road record among NBA teams presently above .500. Only the L.A. Lakers (6-13) entered Wednesday with a worse mark away from home. … Rockets C Samuel Dalembert, a Montreal resident and a fixture of the men’s national team, had 14 points and six rebounds in 34 minutes.

The Canadian Press

Not much else going on in the NBA world today.

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Rockets look to snap losing streak against Raptors

Posted on 07 March 2012. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Houston Rockets haven’t struggled this much since the very beginning of 2012, but another date with the Toronto Raptors may be just what they need to get back on track.

Houston seeks to avoid a season-high fifth straight defeat Wednesday night when it visits sputtering Toronto.

The Rockets (21-18) are coming off consecutive overtime losses, falling 105-103 to the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday and 97-92 at Boston on Tuesday.

Those defeats are part of a four-game skid that matches their worst this season. They also dropped four straight Jan. 3-7.

Tuesday’s loss was also Houston’s fourth straight on the road, and it came despite having six players score in double figures, led by 18 points each from Luis Scola and Kyle Lowry.

“We started doing the worst thing you can do on the road: Just start playing the score as opposed to playing the game,” coach Kevin McHale said. “We lost our rhythm a little bit and then we just got too conservative trying to run the clock, trying to play perfect basketball.”

Goran Dragic hit a jumper in the final seconds of regulation to send the game to overtime, but Scola said it just delayed the inevitable.

“The fact that we played the overtime was a bonus, was a present. We lost the game before that,” Scola said.

Now the Rockets hope to end their skid against the last team they beat.

Houston shot only 38.7 percent but came away with an 88-85 win over Toronto on Feb. 28, as Lowry scored a game-high 26 points.

That contest marked the first of three times in the last five games the Raptors (12-26) have scored fewer than 90 points, and they’re averaging 89.3 for the season after falling 92-88 to Orlando on Monday.

DeMar DeRozan scored 23 points for Toronto, which has lost 10 of 14. Each of those defeats has come by seven points or fewer.

“It’s definitely frustrating, especially knowing how many games we had like that this season that we definitely could’ve won,” DeRozan said. “We just got to close out teams.”

Coach Dwane Casey lauded his team for another good performance despite falling short.

“I feel for our guys because they are putting themselves in a position to win,” Casey said.

The major reason for that is how well Toronto has played defensively of late. Beginning with the matchup against Houston, the Raptors have held their last five opponents to 88.2 points per game on 40.8 percent shooting.

DeRozan has done his part offensively as Andrea Bargnani remains sidelined with a strained calf, averaging 20.8 points and shooting 49.2 percent over his last eight games.

He had a career-high 37 points at Houston on Dec. 31, 2010, but the Rockets won 114-105 and will now seek to win three in a row in the series for the first time since March 5, 2002-March 5, 2003.

They’ll hope for another solid performance from Lowry, who is averaging 19.6 points over his last eight games. However, prior to last month’s meeting with Toronto, Lowry had shot 36.2 percent and averaged 9.7 points in seven games versus the Raptors.

There is the quick update of the day.

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Reeling Rockets visit Toronto

Posted on 07 March 2012. Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Written by

The Sports Network

Lowry scores 26 in Rockets' narrow win over…

Posted on 29 February 2012. Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

The Houston Rockets are winning the close ones with a rugged schedule ahead.

Kyle Lowry scored 26 points, Luis Scola had 15 points and 10 rebounds and the Rockets beat the Toronto Raptors 88-85 on Tuesday night.

Houston has won four in a row, and five of its last six to move seven games over .500 for the first time this season. The Rockets have had to sweat out the last three wins, coming through with clutch baskets and key defensive stops at the end to hang on.

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“We’ve built on it so much, and our team has come together so well,” Lowry said. “We have the faith in each other to make the plays, make the right plays and right decisions for each other and win games.”

Kevin Martin scored 14 points, though he missed a free throw with 11.7 seconds left that gave the Raptors a chance to tie it. But Linas Kleiza missed a long 3-point try, Martin corralled the rebound and the Rockets won for the 18th time in the last 25 games.

“The last possession was huge,” said rookie Chandler Parsons, who came up with a key offensive rebound that led to Martin’s late free throws. “We all switched, we all communicated, and we made them take a tough shot.”

The Rockets finished a 5-1 homestand and now face another demanding stretch, with games against Denver and the Los Angeles Clippers this weekend before a weeklong road trip.

“We’re not going to make the playoffs just by winning home games,” Scola said. “We need to win on the road, we need to win big games.”

DeMar DeRozan scored 17 points, James Johnson had 16 and Ed Davis tied a career-high with 15 rebounds for the Raptors. Toronto outrebounded Houston 47-37, but went 2 for 17 from 3-point range and committed 17 turnovers.

The Raptors have lost eight of their last 10 games.

“I liked our effort and we competed as a team,” Toronto coach Dwane Casey said. “Basketball plays and basketball decisions have to get better.”

The Rockets have won 25 consecutive games when holding their opponent below 90 points, and they’re 13-0 in those games this year.

Scola scored eight points in the first seven minutes, and Houston took advantage of Toronto’s poor shooting to build an early lead. The Raptors started 2 for 11.

The Rockets, meanwhile, played efficiently at the start, opening 10 for 21 from the field to lead 27-15.

Houston led 45-36 at the break, despite getting out rebounded 27-19. The Raptors hurt themselves will 11 first-half turnovers.

The Raptors continued to control the boards in the third quarter, and trimmed the deficit to three on DeRozan’s dunk with 1:53 left. Goran Dragic beat the clock with a driving one-hander to put the Rockets up 69-64 heading to the fourth.

Lowry swished a 3 with just under five minutes left for an 81-73 Houston lead. The Raptors answered with a quick 6-0 run, capped by Amir Johnson’s layup.

“We got the game under control,” Scola said, “and then we started making a lot of mistakes. They even got back in the game, and we were lucky.”

Toronto trailed only 85-83 when Parsons grabbed an offensive rebound off a Martin miss. Martin got Anthony Carter in the air on a head fake and drew the shooting foul with 11.7 seconds left.

“We believe in ourselves and we were right there at the end, but we couldn’t get it done,” Raptors guard Jose Calderon said. “We have to try and learn to win possessions at the end of the game.”

Martin, an 88.6 per cent free-throw shooter, made the first try, but missed the second, and Houston led only 86-83. The Rockets guarded Toronto’s inbound play well, Kleiza was forced to take a 30-foot 3-pointer from a bad angle, and Martin rebounded.

Notes: The Rockets have been outrebounded in seven consecutive games. … Houston is 8-2 against the Eastern Conference this season. … The home team has won the last nine meetings. … The Rockets honoured members from their teams of the 1980s in a pre-game ceremony, including John Lucas, Robert Reid, Rodney McCray and Ralph Sampson, the first overall pick in the 1983 draft. The 7-foot-4 Sampson was one of 12 finalists for induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. “It’s only an accolade that my teammates and this organization can appreciate as well,” Sampson said, “that they have somebody who loved the game, loved the city, loved the fans. And if that happens, we’ll all go in together, so it works out.”

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Kyle Lowry scores 26 in Rockets' 88-85 win…

Posted on 29 February 2012. Tags: , , , , , , ,

HOUSTON – The Houston Rockets are winning the close ones with a rugged schedule ahead.

Kyle Lowry scored 26 points, Luis Scola had 15 points and 10 rebounds and the Rockets beat the Toronto Raptors 88-85 on Tuesday night.

Houston has won four in a row, and five of its last six to move seven games over .500 for the first time this season. The Rockets have had to sweat out the last three wins, coming through with clutch baskets and key defensive stops at the end to hang on.

“We’ve built on it so much, and our team has come together so well,” Lowry said. “We have the faith in each other to make the plays, make the right plays and right decisions for each other and win games.”

Kevin Martin scored 14 points, though he missed a free throw with 11.7 seconds left that gave the Raptors a chance to tie it. But Linas Kleiza missed a long 3-point try, Martin corralled the rebound and the Rockets won for the 18th time in the last 25 games.

“The last possession was huge,” said rookie Chandler Parsons, who came up with a key offensive rebound that led to Martin’s late free throws. “We all switched, we all communicated, and we made them take a tough shot.”

The Rockets finished a 5-1 homestand and now face another demanding stretch, with games against Denver and the Los Angeles Clippers this weekend before a weeklong road trip.

“We’re not going to make the playoffs just by winning home games,” Scola said. “We need to win on the road, we need to win big games.”

DeMar DeRozan scored 17 points, James Johnson had 16 and Ed Davis tied a career-high with 15 rebounds for the Raptors. Toronto outrebounded Houston 47-37, but went 2 for 17 from 3-point range and committed 17 turnovers.

The Raptors have lost eight of their last 10 games.

“I liked our effort and we competed as a team,” Toronto coach Dwane Casey said. “Basketball plays and basketball decisions have to get better.”

The Rockets have won 25 consecutive games when holding their opponent below 90 points, and they’re 13-0 in those games this year.

Scola scored eight points in the first seven minutes, and Houston took advantage of Toronto’s poor shooting to build an early lead. The Raptors started 2 for 11.

The Rockets, meanwhile, played efficiently at the start, opening 10 for 21 from the field to lead 27-15.

Houston led 45-36 at the break, despite getting out rebounded 27-19. The Raptors hurt themselves will 11 first-half turnovers.

The Raptors continued to control the boards in the third quarter, and trimmed the deficit to three on DeRozan’s dunk with 1:53 left. Goran Dragic beat the clock with a driving one-hander to put the Rockets up 69-64 heading to the fourth.

Lowry swished a 3 with just under five minutes left for an 81-73 Houston lead. The Raptors answered with a quick 6-0 run, capped by Amir Johnson’s layup.

“We got the game under control,” Scola said, “and then we started making a lot of mistakes. They even got back in the game, and we were lucky.”

Toronto trailed only 85-83 when Parsons grabbed an offensive rebound off a Martin miss. Martin got Anthony Carter in the air on a head fake and drew the shooting foul with 11.7 seconds left.

“We believe in ourselves and we were right there at the end, but we couldn’t get it done,” Raptors guard Jose Calderon said. “We have to try and learn to win possessions at the end of the game.”

Martin, an 88.6 per cent free-throw shooter, made the first try, but missed the second, and Houston led only 86-83. The Rockets guarded Toronto’s inbound play well, Kleiza was forced to take a 30-foot 3-pointer from a bad angle, and Martin rebounded.

Notes: The Rockets have been outrebounded in seven consecutive games. … Houston is 8-2 against the Eastern Conference this season. … The home team has won the last nine meetings. … The Rockets honoured members from their teams of the 1980s in a pre-game ceremony, including John Lucas, Robert Reid, Rodney McCray and Ralph Sampson, the first overall pick in the 1983 draft. The 7-foot-4 Sampson was one of 12 finalists for induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. “It’s only an accolade that my teammates and this organization can appreciate as well,” Sampson said, “that they have somebody who loved the game, loved the city, loved the fans. And if that happens, we’ll all go in together, so it works out.”

Gotta run!.

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Raptors late rally not enough to beat Rockets

Posted on 29 February 2012. Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

The Houston Rockets are winning the close ones with a rugged schedule ahead.

Kyle Lowry scored 26 points, Luis Scola had 15 points and 10 rebounds and the Rockets beat the Toronto Raptors 88-85 on Tuesday night.

Houston has won four in a row, and five of its last six to move seven games over .500 for the first time this season. The Rockets have had to sweat out the last three wins, coming through with clutch baskets and key defensive stops at the end to hang on.

“We’ve built on it so much, and our team has come together so well,” Lowry said. “We have the faith in each other to make the plays, make the right plays and right decisions for each other and win games.”

Kevin Martin scored 14 points, though he missed a free throw with 11.7 seconds left that gave the Raptors a chance to tie it. But Linas Kleiza missed a long 3-point try, Martin corralled the rebound and the Rockets won for the 18th time in the last 25 games.

“The last possession was huge,” said rookie Chandler Parsons, who came up with a key offensive rebound that led to Martin’s late free throws. “We all switched, we all communicated, and we made them take a tough shot.”

The Rockets finished a 5-1 homestand and now face another demanding stretch, with games against Denver and the Los Angeles Clippers this weekend before a weeklong road trip.

“We’re not going to make the playoffs just by winning home games,” Scola said. “We need to win on the road, we need to win big games.”

DeMar DeRozan scored 17 points, James Johnson had 16 and Ed Davis tied a career-high with 15 rebounds for the Raptors. Toronto outrebounded Houston 47-37, but went 2 for 17 from 3-point range and committed 17 turnovers.

The Raptors have lost eight of their last 10 games.

“I liked our effort and we competed as a team,” Toronto coach Dwane Casey said. “Basketball plays and basketball decisions have to get better.”

The Rockets have won 25 consecutive games when holding their opponent below 90 points, and they’re 13-0 in those games this year.

Scola scored eight points in the first seven minutes, and Houston took advantage of Toronto’s poor shooting to build an early lead. The Raptors started 2 for 11.

The Rockets, meanwhile, played efficiently at the start, opening 10 for 21 from the field to lead 27-15.

Houston led 45-36 at the break, despite getting out rebounded 27-19. The Raptors hurt themselves will 11 first-half turnovers.

The Raptors continued to control the boards in the third quarter, and trimmed the deficit to three on DeRozan’s dunk with 1:53 left. Goran Dragic beat the clock with a driving one-hander to put the Rockets up 69-64 heading to the fourth.

Lowry swished a 3 with just under five minutes left for an 81-73 Houston lead. The Raptors answered with a quick 6-0 run, capped by Amir Johnson’s layup.

“We got the game under control,” Scola said, “and then we started making a lot of mistakes. They even got back in the game, and we were lucky.”

Toronto trailed only 85-83 when Parsons grabbed an offensive rebound off a Martin miss. Martin got Anthony Carter in the air on a head fake and drew the shooting foul with 11.7 seconds left.

“We believe in ourselves and we were right there at the end, but we couldn’t get it done,” Raptors guard Jose Calderon said. “We have to try and learn to win possessions at the end of the game.”

Martin, an 88.6 per cent free-throw shooter, made the first try, but missed the second, and Houston led only 86-83. The Rockets guarded Toronto’s inbound play well, Kleiza was forced to take a 30-foot 3-pointer from a bad angle, and Martin rebounded.

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