Raptors 108, 76ers 100
TORONTO -- Guard DeMar DeRozan scored 27 points and the Toronto Raptors defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 108-100 on Friday night.
Forward Terrence Ross added 24 points for the Raptors (8-13), who have won two of their past eight games while the Sixers (7-16) lost their fifth in a row.
Forward Amir Johnson scored 17 points with 10 rebounds for Toronto, center Jonas Valanciunas had 12 points and 13 rebounds and guard Greivis Vasquez scored 12 points off the bench in his first game for the Raptors. Guard Kyle Lowry had 11 assists and six points.
Guard Tony Wroten led the 76ers with 23 points and forward Evan Turner added 21 points and 10 rebounds while forward Thaddeus Young had 18, center Spencer Hawes 15 and forward James Anderson 13 coming off the bench.
The Raptors entered the fourth quarter leading by seven and stretched it to 14 with 7:11 to play on three successive 3-point shots -- two by Vasquez and one by Johnson. But Young's layup with 5:18 to play cut the lead to seven. Turner's 3-pointer cut the lead to four with 2:32 left.
Wroten cut the lead to two with 1:58 to play. Ross countered with a 3-pointer and the Raptors regained the ball on a turnover. DeRozan made one of two free throws with 1:14 to play and hit a jumper with 40.7 left to put Toronto ahead 106-98.
The Raptors took an eight-point lead into the second half. DeRozan scored the first four points of the third quarter to help the Raptors open up by 14 in the first 2:45 of the third. After the 76ers cut the lead to two with 1:2 left in the third, the quarter finished with the Raptors up 83-76 on Lowry's running tip shot beat the buzzer.
The 76ers trailed by 15 points after the first quarter, but trimmed the lead to three points after 3:49 of the second on a layup by Anderson. The Raptors got the lead back to eight on Vasquez's first two points since his arrival after Monday's trade with Sacramento.
A pair of free throws by Wroten tied the game at 45 with 3:30 left in the half. The Raptors led 56-48 at the half after forward Patrick Patterson, also acquired in the trade, made a layup and a free throw for his first Raptors points.
The Raptors opened the game with a 13-2 run and led 36-21 after the first quarter paced by 12 points from Ross, usually a guard coming off the bench who started his second consecutive game at forward. They have been his only two starts of the season.
NOTES: Philadelphia G Michael Carter-Williams (skin infection) did not play Friday for the fifth consecutive game. ... F Arnett Moultrie (left ankle) and C Nerlens Noel (left knee) did not play for the 76ers. ... Raptors F Tyler Hansbrough (left shoulder sprain) returned to the lineup after he missed two straight games. ... F Chuck Hayes, one of four players acquired by the Raptors in Monday's trade that sent F Rudy Gay, C Aaron Gray and F Quincy Acy to Sacramento, needs to pass a routine baseline cardiac test on Monday at Cleveland Clinic before he can play. ... The Raptors will play the Bulls in Chicago on Saturday. ... The 76ers will be home to face the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday.
