DALLAS — Coming off the best regular season in franchise history, the Toronto Raptors are 4-0 for the first time ever in NBA.
Kyle Lowry scored 27 points, and the Raptors remained undefeated by topping the Dallas Mavericks 102-91 at American Airlines Center.
“We are off to great start,” Toronto coach Dwane Casey said, “but we have to remember that this is a marathon, not a sprint.”
The Raptors rode a 12-0 burst in the fourth quarter to take control in the opener of a four-game road trip.
The quick start is not going to the heads of a young squad that won 49 games last season.
The Mavericks (2-2) dropped their home opener after going 2-1 on a West Coast road trip. Dallas, who swept Toronto last season, held a halftime lead and were up by four points midway through the final period.
Lowry shot nine-for-15 from the floor, including four-for-five from beyond the three-point line, and added 10 assists. He also had three steals and two blocks in 37 minutes.
DeRozan battled back from early foul trouble to score 20 after logging just seven minutes in the first half.
Mavs’ Dirk Nowitzki scored 18 but had only five points in the second half. Deron Williams scored 13 on four-of-15 shooting, and Dallas shot only 38.4 percent.
Hornets 130, Bulls 105: Jeremy Lamb scored 20 points to lead seven players in double figures as the Charlotte Hornets notched their first victory of the season by routing the Chicago Bulls 130-105.
The Hornets raced to a 37-20 lead after a quarter and went on to lead by as many as 27 points in the first half, eventually settling for a 69-47 halftime advantage.
Pacers 94, Pistons 82: Rodney Stuckey scored 23 points off the bench and the Indiana Pacers notched their first victory of the season by downing the previously unbeaten Detroit Pistons 94-82 at The Palace.
The former Pistons point guard made nine of 14 field goal attempts and five of six free throws for the Pacers (1-3).
Indiana power forward Paul George supplied 16 points, nine rebounds and six assists, George Hill contributed 12 points and six assists and Monta Ellis added 15 points.
Hawks 98, Heat 92: Behind a first-half surge and a defense that maintained the lead throughout, the Atlanta Hawks bested the Miami Heat 98-92 at AmericanAirlines Arena.
The Hawks (4-1) earned their seventh consecutive win over their Southeast Division foe.
Jeff Teague led Atlanta with 26 points and nine assists, Al Horford finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds, and Paul Millsap added 12 and 10.
Magic 103, Pelicans 94: Evan Fournier scored 30 points and Nikola Vucevic added 22 to power the Orlando Magic to a 103-94 victory over the winless New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center.
In notching their first win after an 0-3 start, the Magic held Pelicans forward Anthony Davis to 14 points on three-of-12 shooting, and all three baskets came on dunks. Eric Gordon led the Pelicans with 21 points.
Grizzlies 103, Kings 89: Zach Randolph scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and the Memphis Grizzlies shook off the worst loss in franchise history to beat the Sacramento Kings 103-89 at Sleep Train Arena.
Courtney Lee added 14 points, and Mike Conley scored 14 with six assists for Memphis, who were less than 24 hours removed from a 119-69 loss to the Golden State Warriors.
Nuggets 120, Lakers 109: Kenneth Faried scored 28 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, and the Denver Nuggets beat the Los Angeles Lakers 120-109 at Staples Center.
Danilo Gallinari had 21 points and eight rebounds, J.J. Hickson finished with 17 points and seven rebounds, and rookie point guard Emmanuel Mudiay added 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Nuggets (2-2).
