DeRozan scores 34 as Raptors edge Wizards 94-91

DeMar DeRozan led the Raptors with a game-high 23 points while shooting a ideal 7 for 7 from the line.

Leading the Raptors to a 19-13 record and the fourth-seed in the Eastern Conference to this point in the season, Lowry has provided his team with a dependable scoring option aside from the high-flying DeRozan, upping his points per game average from a modest 17.8 in 2014-15 to an exceptional 20.9 this season.

The night marked a milestone for coach Dwane Casey and saw the Toronto Raptors play with their full starting lineup in more than a month.

Raptors: host Chicago on Sunday.

With both their star players shooting the ball inefficiently – DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry were a combined 13-for-34 – the Raptors had a couple of those secondary players step up in big ways to get the win. “It feels good to be healthy again”.

LaMarcus Aldridge had 21 points and 12 rebounds and the Spurs routed the Phoenix Suns 112-79 on Wednesday night for their 19th straight home win to start the season. Center Cody Zeller added 15 points and nine rebounds for Charlotte, while guard Nicolas Batum had 14 points and center Frank Kaminsky chipped in 13 points.DeRozan scored 12 points in the first quarter as the Raptors took a 29-28 lead. We’ll see if he has a better outing than he did against the Wizards where he shot just 2-for-10 from the field. “We just understood that if we got some stops and some big buckets we would be right back in the game and we would be able to take the lead”. “The shots aren’t always going to be there, the shots aren’t always going to fall but having defense to lean back on that’s where we’ve got to be consistent”.

The Raptors appeared to be in charge after Wall was assessed a technical foul for complaining about a call against him on Kyle Lowry.

The Raptors jumped out to a seven-point lead in the first quarter, but couldn’t put any distance on the Wizards, and led just 28-27 going into the second. This sequencing isn’t at all new to Lowry and DeRozan, because they’ve spent the last three-plus years developing a familiarity that gets them through the ebbs and flows and sees them lean on each other instinctively throughout the course of the game.

“I don’t know if it’s matchups, but even before Steve Clifford got there we struggled”, Casey said before the game. “Of course I have to do my part, but each and every one of us in this locker-room has to do our job”.

“We didn’t match their intensity, their physicality inside and that allowed them to get up on us”. The Wizards won’t continue to foul this much.

“We don’t care whether we have a full team or not”, Wall said.

Guard Victor Oladipo scored 20 points for the Magic, who had won six of their past eight games.

Forward Marvin Williams hit a three-pointer to tie the game 94-94 and give him 17 points, but that was the end of the scoring for the Hornets. G Bradley Beal (stress reaction in right leg) missed his 10th straight game. The Wizards are 5-5 over that stretch.

Carroll played 41 minutes against IN on opening night and at least 35 nine more times before first getting hurt.

After making it to the sixth game of the Eastern Conference finals last season, this year’s Wizards sit a shocking 11th in the conference at 14-16. 500 as we approach the midway point in the season, you will be hard-pressed to find a team as complete as the Toronto Raptors.

Toronto has won eight of nine and four straight regular-season matchups. DeRozan is always a scorer, but he takes on an even larger role when Lowry hits the bench, attacking the rim even more frequently.

The night marked another milestone for Casey, who tied Sam Mitchell for most games coached in franchise history – 345.