Streaking Toronto Raptors outlast Dallas Mavericks in overtime

DeMar DeRozan scored five of his game-high 29 points in overtime Friday night, including the go-ahead hoop with 53.1 seconds remaining, helping the Toronto Raptors survive a scare from the Dallas Mavericks in a 122-115 victory at Air Canada Centre in Toronto.

Jonas Valanciunas added five free throws in the final 10.7 seconds to ice the win for Toronto (52-17), which recorded their 11th straight win and has the top record in the Eastern Conference.

Harrison Barnes had 27 points for the Mavericks, who had opened a four-game trip with a 110-97 win at New York on Tuesday.

DeRozan’s close-range shot came after he, Delon Wright and Fred VanVleet had buried 3-pointers in the overtime session, allowing the Raptors to catch and pass the Mavericks, who had gone up by four early in the period.

After forging a 115-all tie on a 3-pointer by Dwight Powell, Dallas missed their last two shots and mixed in a turnover.

Toronto had two opportunities to win it in regulation, but with the score tied at 106-all, Serge Ibaka could not connect on a runner in the lane with 1.2 seconds left, and DeRozan misfired on a buzzer-beating follow shot.

Dallas blew an eight-point lead over the final 5:25. The Mavericks went the final 2:52 without a field goal, committing three consecutive turnovers before missing their last two shots.

Valanciunas finished with 21 points and a game-high 12 rebounds for Toronto, which won while resting guard Kyle Lowry.

VanVleet had a game-high eight assists to go with 14 points for the Raptors while Wright added 15 points, Ibaka and Pascal Siakam 12 apiece and CJ Miles 10.

Dennis Smith Jr. backed Barnes with 19 points for the Mavericks, who led for most of regulation play.

J.J. Barea collected a team-high six assists to go with 18 points, Powell had a team-high eight rebounds to complement nine points and Yogi Ferrell had 12 points for Dallas, who had beaten Toronto 98-93 in their earlier meeting in Texas.

Up 60-54 at the half, the Mavericks extended their lead to 11 on three occasions in the third quarter, the final time on a Ferrell jumper that made it 84-73 with 1:18 left in the period.

Dallas led 84-78 at period’s end.

Kings 98, Warriors 93

Buddy Hield gave Sacramento the lead for good when he made one of two free throws with 27.5 seconds remaining and Willie Cauley-Stein blocked Nick Young’s potential game-tying 3-pointer with 12.6 seconds left, sending the Kings to victory over injury-depleted Golden State in Oakland, California.

Hield scored a team-high 22 points, including two clinching free throws with 13.2 seconds left, for the Kings, who completed a 2-0 sweep of their games in Oakland for the first time since 2003.

Quinn Cook had 25 points for the Warriors, who learned before the game that All-Star forward Kevin Durant would miss at least the next two weeks with a tear in his rib cartilage. Durant joined Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson on the Warriors sidelines, and watched Golden State’s eight-game winning streak come to an end.

Thunder 121, 

Clippers 113

Russell Westbrook recorded his 22nd triple-double of the season with 16 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds as Oklahoma City made plays down the stretch to beat visiting Los Angeles.

Corey Brewer led Oklahoma City with a season-high 22 points and also tied a season high with six steals, as the Thunder had a season-best 17 steals. Paul George, who was questionable with a pelvic injury, contributed 19 points as Oklahoma City (42-29) won their fifth straight and moved one game ahead of fifth-place Minnesota in the Western Conference.

Los Angeles forward Tobias Harris led all scorers with 24 points but did not score in the fourth quarter. Austin Rivers added 23, as the Clippers (37-31) lost for the sixth time in 15 games and dropped one-and-a-half games behind eighth-place San Antonio.

Celtics 92, Magic 83

Terry Rozier and Greg Monroe each scored 17 points and Al Horford scored 15 and had nine rebounds in his return as the shorthanded visitors from Boston beat Orlando.

Rozier added seven rebounds and five assists. Abdel Nader contributed 11 points and Shane Larkin added 10 for the Celtics, who snapped a two-game losing streak despite shooting just 37.8 per cent for the game.

Shelvin Mack finished with 16 points and seven rebounds to lead Orlando. D.J. Augustin and Jonathon Simmons added 13 apiece, Nikola Vucevic had 12 and Mario Hezonja 11 as the Magic lost for the sixth time in seven games after snapping a five-game skid on Wednesday against the Bucks.

Heat 92, Lakers 91

Goran Dragic scored the last of his game-high 30 points on a jumper with 15.2 seconds left, lifting Miami over Los Angeles at Staples Centre.

Kelly Olynyk came off the bench to add 17 for Miami, which tied Milwaukee for the Eastern Conference’s seventh play-off spot. James Johnson contributed 12 points and rookie Bam Adebayo chipped in 11.

Julius Randle led Los Angeles with a 25-point, 12-rebound double-double, while Brook Lopez hit for 18 points. Reserve Travis Wear and rookie Kyle Kuzma each scored 11 points.

76ers 120, Nets 116

Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons each recorded double-doubles and Robert Covington hit a go-ahead 3-pointer in the final minute to lift Philadelphia over visiting Brooklyn.

Embiid finished with 24 points and 19 rebounds, and Simmons added 21 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds for the Sixers (38-30), who began the night in sixth place in the Eastern Conference.

Barring a complete collapse, Philadelphia appears headed back to the play-off for the first time since the 2011-12 season. Hollis-Jefferson scored 21 points and DeMarre Carroll added 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Nets, who have lost three in a row and are already eliminated from play-off contention.