Raptors hold on to edge Mavs

TORONTO, Canada — Toronto guard DeMar DeRozan scored a game-high 28 points and the Raptors held off a late rally to beat visiting Dallas 103-99 Tuesday in an NBA thriller. Raptors guard Kyle Lowry added 17 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists while center Bismack Biyombo scored nine points and grabbed a career-best 20 rebounds and Luis Scola added 15 points and nine rebounds for Toronto. “They all came up big,” DeRozan said. “We needed everybody tonight.” The Raptors never trailed, up by as many as 18 points in the first quarter and well ahead when the Mavericks brought in a reserve unit with barely five minutes remaining. The Mavericks battled back and trailed by only two points with 11.6 seconds to play on a Jeremy Evans layup, but Evans missed a free throw and Toronto’s Terrence Ross made two free throws, the last of his 16 points, to finish the scoring. “It was a big win,” DeRozan said. “We finished ugly but we got a big win. We knew they were going to make a run but we were able to withstand it.” German star forward Dirk Nowitzki led the Mavericks (15-13) with 20 points and seven rebounds. He stands 10 points shy of passing Shaquille O’Neal for sixth on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. Lakers 111, Nuggets 107 Kobe Bryant scored 11 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Denver Nuggets. Bryant tied his season high and helped the Lakers win for just the second time in 10 games. Jordan Clarkson scored 19 points and Lou Williams had 17 points and for Los Angeles. Will Barton scored 25 points, guard Gary Harris tied a career high with 21, and center Nikola Jokic had 15 points and 10 rebounds for Denver. The Nuggets have lost two straight at home to teams with a combined record of 11-42. Grizzlies 104, 76ers 90 Marc Gasol scored 19 points and Mike Conley added 18 as Memphis routed Philadelphia. Courtney Lee contributed 15 points for the Grizzlies, who won their second straight. Zach Randolph and Matt Barnes chipped in with 14 and 12, respectively. Gasol also had six rebounds and five assists, while Conley contributed six assists. Rookie Jahlil Okafor notched 18 points to pace Philadelphia, which dropped its 11th straight to fall to 1-29, the worst 30-game start in NBA history. Hollis Thompson added 16 points and Isaiah Canaan had 15. Pistons 93, Heat 92 The Detroit Pistons have had their best long distance shooting performances against the Miami Heat this season. The Pistons made 15 three-pointers and erased an early 18-point deficit in a 93-92 victory over the Heat at AmericanAirlines Arena.