Raptors beat Knicks for 10th straight victory

The red-hot Toronto Raptors received shining performances from their All-Stars and rolled into the record books.
Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan scored 26 points apiece, and the Raptors set a franchise-record with their 10th consecutive win, 103-93 over the short-handed New York Knicks on Thursday.
“We’re just going out there and having fun,” said DeRozan, hours after being named an Eastern Conference reserve for the NBA All-Star Game to be played February 14 in host city Toronto.
“I tell the guys anytime we go out there: Play hard on both ends and everything else will take care of itself.”  
The Raptors were tested by the stubborn Knicks despite playing without starters Carmelo Anthony (sore left knee), Latvian rookie Kristap Porzingis (upper respiratory infection) and Spaniard Jose Calderon (groin) before coming away with the milestone victory.   
“They fought hard without three of their starters and gave us a hell of a game,” said Lowry, who was voted an East starting guard in the league’s mid-season showcase. “We didn’t take advantage of nothing.”
Toronto led 53-43 at halftime before having it cut to 58-57 in the third quarter. The Raptors responded, though, as DeRozan and Lowry combined for 11 points in a period-ending 15-3 run to open up a 73-60 cushion entering the final 12 minutes.   
Lowry scored 10 points, and Toronto’s lead was 97-86 with two minutes left, but the visitors wouldn’t go away. A 3-pointer by Jerian Grant brought the Knicks to within 99-92 with 33.6 seconds remaining before DeRozan sank four free throws to wrap up the landmark win.
“We had to just keep playing our game,” Lowry said, “sticking with our principles and playing for each other.”
Arron Affalo scored 20 points while reserves Sasha Vujecic and Grant added 13 for the undermanned Knicks (22-25) who lost their fourth straight decision.
“We didn’t do enough things to win regardless of who showed up,” Knicks coach Derek Fisher said. “We played hard but we could have been better. We could have won this game.”  
Elsewhere:
l Chicago Bulls 114, LA Lakers 91: Jimmy Butler had 26 points with a career-best 10 assists, while Spaniard Pau Gasol added 21 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists against his former team, and the visiting Bulls (26-19) sent the lowly Lakers (9-39) to their season-high-tying eighth straight loss.  
l Denver Nuggets 117, Washington Wizards 113: Italy’s Danilo Gallinari drained four triples en route to 26 points, Emmanuel Mudiay added 20, and the visiting Nuggets (18-29) regrouped to beat the Wizards after coughing up an 18-point cushion. The Nuggets were knotted at 99-apiece, when Gary Harris and Gallinari buried back-to back 3-pointers to open a 105-99 advantage with 3:16 to go, and pulled away to hand the Wizards their fifth loss in six games. Garrett Temple scored 20 points for Washington (20-24), and newly-named NBA All-Star John Wall had 17 points with nine
assists.
l Indiana Pacers 111, Atlanta Hawks 92: Monta Ellis scored 25 points, Myles Turner had 20 and the Pacers closed on a 23-2 run to crush the visiting Hawks. Jeff Teague had 20 points for Atlanta (27-21), which has dropped two in a row.
l New Orleans Pelicans 114, Sacramento Kings 104: Ryan Anderson matched his career high with 36 points, reserve Jrue Holiday added 25 with eight assists, and the short-handed Pelicans beat the visiting Kings. The Pelicans (17-28) overcame the absences of newly-named All-Star Anthony Davis (concussion) and Tyreke Evans (right knee tendinitis) to win for the sixth time in the last eight games. Freshly-minted All-Star DeMarcus Cousins had 26 points and 10 rebounds while Ben McLemore also had 26 for the Kings (20-26), who wasted a 17-point, 15-assist effort from Rajon Rondo.
l Memphis Grizzlies 103, Milwaukee Bucks 83: Jeff Green scored 21 points, Spaniard Marc Gasol had 15, and the Grizzlies (27-20) pulled away in the second half to beat the visiting Bucks. Greg Monroe had 21 points for Milwaukee (20-28), which was outscored 53-42 after intermission.