Toronto enters play at 31-21 on the year and in fourth place in the Eastern Conference.
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DeRozan had missed seven of Toronto’s last eight games with a sprained ankle and was 11 of 22 from the floor. The Raptors trail the Boston Celtics (33-18) by 2.5 games in the Atlantic Division standings. Both teams struggled with turnovers and missed shots early on. The sickness and stitches did little to deter Lowry, who played 40 minutes for the 14th time.
Toronto’s other All-Star, Kyle Lowry, also contributed with 24 points, eight assists and five three-pointers.
Chris Paul, L.A.’s dynamic point guard, has been sidelined since undergoing surgery to his left thumb on January 18.
“When you have a guy out like Chris, you don’t have a margin for error”, Los Angeles coach Doc Rivers said. The Clippers lost the lead with Jordan on the bench, and they never saw it again after the 1st quarter.
“The hard work really pays off: to get in the gym after hours and before hours”, Lowry said before the second-quarter basket that came in Toronto’s thorough 118-109 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers at the Air Canada Centre. “Her voice was attractive, but the anthem, the song, the words … have her come to Toronto, we’ll come and get somebody to give her some lessons”.
The focus for the Clippers now is to get healthy and be playing their best basketball when the playoffs do arrive.
X-Factor: The Raptors dominated the Clippers from the FT line.
While Toronto celebrated DeRozan’s return, the team was still without forward Patrick Patterson, who sat out for the second straight game with a bothersome knee.
The win completed a pair of back-to-back wins, over Brooklyn on Sunday and the Clippers which means the Raps will have a day off before taking on the Minnesota Timberwolves Wednesday in Minneapolis. “We’ve played good defenses in stretches and we extended it tonight”.
Lowry said, “It’s one game, and we’ve got to find ways to continue to get better”.
“It’s just something we have to work on”, Nets center Justin Hamilton said.
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Blake Griffin led the Clippers (31-21) with a triple-double, scoring 26 points and adding 11 rebounds and 11 assists. What makes his 2016-2017 season even more impressive is the lack of three-point shooting that accounts for his points. “At least I can say I put one last bucket in”. They were led, as per usual, by Brook Lopez with 20 points and seven rebounds.
