Raptors rally to beat Heat

MIAMI — Down by 15 early, the Toronto Raptors had no reason to panic. Trouble brings out their best. DeMar DeRozan scored 40 points — doing that back-to-back for the first time in his career — and the Raptors clamped down defensively in the final three quarters to beat the Miami Heat 101-84 in the NBA Thursday night. Toronto has now won 19 games this season after trailing by at least 10 points, more than any team in the NBA. Playing with 13 stitches in his right hand and some padding and bandages to protect the injury, Hassan Whiteside had 16 points and 14 rebounds for Miami. Whiteside seemed a bit limited — his first two shots were rather gentle dunks, not his usual make-the-backboard-shake variety. His injury situation even got worse: Whiteside sprained his left ankle late in the game. “Very inspiring, just to see him out there battling,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. Even with one good hand at the start and one good ankle at the finish, Whiteside was one of Miami’s lone offensive bright spots. Rodney McGruder and Goran Dragic each scored 13 for Miami, which shot 39 percent and tied its second-lowest scoring total of the season. Neither team moved in the Eastern Conference playoff standings. Toronto (43-29) remained in the No. 4 spot, pulling within a half-game of No. 3 Washington. Miami (35-37) stayed No. 8, now just a game ahead of No. 9 Chicago and No. 10 Detroit. Mavericks 97, Clippers 95 Mavericks forward Harrison Barnes buried the go-ahead jumper and made a big steal with 3.9 seconds to go to give Dallas a 97-95 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. It was a critical loss for the Clippers, who saw their three-game win streak end and also saw their chances to take over the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference playoff chase diminished. Los Angeles returns home for a Saturday matinee against No. 4 seed Utah, which holds a 1 1/2-game lead over the Clippers. Blake Griffin had a chance to regain the lead in the final seconds, but as he made his move in the paint, Barnes managed to swipe the ball away. The Clippers were afforded one last chance to win with 0.9 seconds to go, but guard J.J. Redick’s leaning three-point attempt just missed off the back iron. Nets 126, Suns 98 Brook Lopez scored 12 of his 19 points in the third quarter as Brooklyn rallied from an early 15-point deficit and pulled away for a rout of Phoenix. Lopez saw his string of 20-plus-point games end at six as he sat out the fourth quarter. His showing helped the Nets win consecutive games for the first time since home wins over the Cleveland Cavaliers and Indiana Pacers on March 24 and 26, 2016. Reserve KJ McDaniels added a season-high 16 points and Jeremy Lin added 13 after sitting Tuesday’s win over the Detroit Pistons with a sprained right ankle. Trevor Booker contributed 14 while Quincy Acy chipped in 12 as the Nets outscored the Suns 111-68 in the final 38:08 and received a season-high 81 points from reserves. Spurs 97, Grizzlies 90 LaMarcus Aldridge poured in 23 points and Kawhi Leonard added 19 as San Antonio finally found a way to beat Memphis. The win was the third straight for the Spurs but just the first in three games this season against Memphis, which always gives San Antonio fits. Trail Blazers 110, Knicks 95 Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum combined for 50 points as Portland swept past New York at Moda Center. Lillard scored 30 points and McCollum added 20 for the Trail Blazers. Jusuf Nurkic contributed 16 points and 10 rebounds for Portland. — Agencies