DeMar DeRozan sinks Wizards with last-minute shot
TORONTO (AP) — DeMar DeRozan hit a tiebreaking jump shot with 12 seconds left and the Toronto Raptors headed into the All-Star break on a winning note, beating the Washington Wizards 95-93 on Wednesday night.
Lou Williams scored 27 points, DeRozan had 23 and Kyle Lowry 13 for the Raptors, who have won seven of the past eight meetings with the Wizards, including all three this season.
John Wall scored 21 points, Drew Gooden had 10 points and 12 rebounds and Paul Pierce scored 17 for the Wizards, whose two-game winning streak was snapped. The loss was Washington's sixth in the past eight games.
Amir Johnson blocked Wall's attempted layup with 8 seconds left but the ball went out of bounds, giving the Wizards one final chance. Wall took the inbounds pass and tried to hit a game-winning 3, but his shot bounced off the back rim.
Greivis Vasquez scored 11 points for the Raptors, who won their third straight and fourth of six. Toronto, which leads the Atlantic Division, improved to 21-9 at home and heads into the break at 36-17, second to Atlanta in the Eastern Conference. It's Toronto's best record at All-Star weekend in the team's 20-year history.
Wizards guard Bradley Beal sat out because of a mild stress reaction in his lower right leg. Beal missed the previous two games with a sore right big toe before tests revealed the stress injury. He'll be re-evaluated after the All-Star break.
Williams banked in a driving shot at 5:18, bringing Toronto to 87-86. After a missed shot by Rasual Butler, Williams followed with a 3 to give the Raptors an 89-87 edge.
After a Washington timeout, Pierce tied it with a jumper, but Williams hit another 3 and Johnson made one free throw to give the Raptors a 93-89 lead at 3:13.
Wall scored eight points in the first period, but Williams replied with eight for the Raptors, including a jumper with 6 seconds left that put Toronto up 27-25 after one.
Toronto started the second period with three straight 3-pointers, two by Williams and one by Vasquez. It then went 6:48 without hitting another field goal. DeRozan finally snapped the drought with a layup, part of an 8-2 Raptors run. DeRozan and Williams each scored six points in the period and Toronto led 49-47 at halftime.
Lowry's 3 put Toronto up 58-57, but Washington answered with a 10-0 run, including eight straight points by Pierce, and an alley-oop from Wall to Otto Porter put the Wizards up 73-63 at 3:17. Vasquez and Williams each scored five points as the Raptors closed the third period with a 12-3 spurt, cutting the deficit to one.
TIP-INS
Wizards: F Kris Humphries (back) was not available. He suffered the injury in Monday's win over Orlando. ... The Wizards outrebounded the Raptors 50-37.
Raptors: Toronto plays nine of 11 on the road following the All-Star break, starting with a stretch of four in five nights. ... The Raptors went 7 for 14 from 3-point range in the second half.