SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Kyle Lowry scored 27 points and made a pivotal jumper with 57 seconds left to lift the Toronto Raptors over the Sacramento Kings 117-109 on Tuesday night.
Terrence Ross matched his season high with 20 points and reserve James Johnson added 19 points and seven rebounds. The East-leading Raptors had lost two in a row.
The Raptors, playing their second consecutive game without guard DeMar DeRozan, led by as much as 15 but were clinging to a 111-107 advantage late in the fourth quarter when Lowry made a 20-foot jumper.
Rudy Gay had 20 points and a career-high 10 assists for Sacramento. The Kings have lost four straight.
Five players scored in double figures for Toronto, which had not won in Sacramento since Dec. 26, 2008.
It helped that the Kings were also short-handed. Leading scorer DeMarcus Cousins missed his third straight game because of a virus.
The Raptors took full advantage and benefited from Sacramento’s defense, which continues to struggle without the 6-foot-11, 270-pound Cousins in the middle. Toronto scored 31 points in the first quarter, 35 in the third and shot an even 50 percent from the floor.
Lowry, who added 13 assists, went 10 of 21 while Johnson shot 9 of 13.
Ross made six of his first eight shots and had 15 points in the first quarter to help Toronto go up 31-22.
Sacramento chipped away at the lead and took a 45-44 lead on Omri Casspi’s free throw after Amir Johnson was whistled for a dead ball technical foul. The Raptors scored the next six points and didn’t trail again.
TIP-INS
Raptors: DeRozan remains inactive with a torn left adductor tendon. He was hurt during Friday’s loss to Dallas and was initially diagnosed as a groin strain. No timetable has been set for his return. … At one point Toronto had 19 assists, all of them from Lowry and Greivis Vasquez. The Raptors finished with 22 assists.
Kings: Cousins continues to be sidelined by a virus that has kept him out since Nov. 26. … The Kings missed 10 of their first 13 shots from the floor. …
UP NEXT
Raptors are at Utah on Wednesday.
Kings host Indiana on Friday.
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