Raptors eke out win

TORONTO—The Toronto Raptors had every reason to blow yesterday’s game.
Short-handed and tired after travelling through the night following Friday’s crushing loss in L.A., coach Dwane Casey told his team at halftime he wouldn’t accept any excuses.

The Raptors listened, with Amir Johnson leading the way with 17 points and a career-tying 16 rebounds, to rally from a 17-point deficit to top the Cleveland Cavaliers 100-96.
“It was like day and night, and I expected it just because of the schedule,” Casey said of the Raptors’ horrible first half.
“Guys were groggy coming in, time change, whatever,” he noted. “We had every [excuse] to mail in this game.”
Six Raptors scored in double digits, with Alan Anderson leading the way with 18 points—10 of them in the fourth quarter.
Kyle Lowry finished with 15, rookie Terrence Ross added 14, DeMar DeRozan scored 13, and Jonas Valanciunas chipped in 11 for the Raptors (25-39), who won for just the second time in eight outings despite missing Rudy Gay and Andrea Bargnani.
Lowry said that Casey came into the half-time dressing room with “a little bit of a fiery side to him.”
“Play with pride, he didn’t want us to go out there and say, ‘Whatever, we lose, we lose,’” Lowry said of the coach’s speech.
“The team responded really well.”
Casey said it was Johnson—who also had three blocked shots—who set the tone for the hard-nosed second-half.
“He’s just an old vet. He’s one of the old guys but young guys at the same time,” Casey noted.
“He is a warrior, I’ve said that all year,” Casey added. “This team is about experience and he’s got experience. He’s seen everything.
“The one thing you are not going to beat Amir Johnson on is effort and fight, and tonight it was contagious.”
Dion Waiters topped the Cavaliers (21-42) with 21 points while C.J. Miles added 15. Brampton, Ont. native Tristan Thompson finished with 11 points.
Cavs’ star guard Kyrie Irving had 12 points before leaving the game late in the third quarter with a left shoulder contusion, suffered when he fell hard after a bone-rattling collision along the baseline with Valanciunas.
Elsewhere in the NBA, Dallas dumped Minnesota 100-77, Oklahoma City beat Boston 91-79, the L.A. Lakers downed Chicago 90-81, Miami upended Indiana 105-91, and Orlando trimmed Philadelphia 99-91.
New Orleans nipped Portland 98-96, Milwaukee topped Sacramento 115-113, and the L.A. Clippers bombed Detroit 129-97.