Toronto Raptors Kyle Lowry splits the Golden State defence on a drive to the basket © GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP / EZRA SHAW
LOS ANGELES, United States, Dec 13 – Kyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka combined for 43 points as the Toronto Raptors beat the two-time defending champion Golden State Warriors at home for the first time in 14 years with a 113-93 victory on Wednesday.
Lowry finished with 23 points and 12 assists and Ibaka tallied 20 points and 12 rebounds as Toronto won despite not having Kawhi Leonard in the lineup.
“It is good for us to get out there and everyone is touching and moving the ball. Move it, swing it, play with some pace,” Lowry said. “It is our second game on this road trip so a good win for us. Something to build off.”
Danny Green scored 15 points, Pascal Siakam had 13 and Fred VanVleet added 10 to help the Raptors improve to an league-best 23-7, matching the best start in franchise history.
Toronto won despite not having Leonard for a second consecutive night with a sore right hip. The Raptors also lost seven-foot centre Jonas Valanciunas to a dislocated left thumb in the first half.
The Warriors lost their second straight game to the Raptors and were so hopelessly outclassed that they sat their starters and went with their reserves late in the fourth quarter.
“We didn’t make shots early in the game and it affected our energy,” said Stephen Curry, who had 10 points. “They got into us early and played aggressive and that set the tone.
“It was one of those tough nights. They are obviously a great team.”
Elsewhere, Kyrie Irving drained a clutch three pointer with 16 seconds left as the short-handed Boston Celtics used a variety of interchangeable parts to beat the Washington Wizards 130-125 in overtime.
Boston’s Kyrie Irving scored the Celtics final 12 points in a win over the Washington Wizards
Irving delivered a game-high 38 points, including consecutive three-pointers in the final 40 seconds of overtime, to propel Boston past the Wizards for their seventh-straight victory.
Irving outduelled Wizard star guard John Wall and scored Boston’s last 12 points.
“Those last two shots were amazing. He made it look easy,” coach Brad Stevens said of Irving, who has had six career overtimes with at least 10 points.
Jayson Tatum scored 12 points and grabbed 12 boards for a double-double and Marcus Morris added 27 points for the Celtics, who had to shuffle the roster because they were missing three top players, Al Horford, Gordon Hayward and Jaylen Brown.
The Celtics had five players in double figures and made all 25 of their free throws.
– Davis scores 44 –
Also, Anthony Davis scored 44 points and grabbed 18 rebounds as the New Orleans Pelicans held on to defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder 118-114.
Jrue Holiday had 20 points and 10 assists, and Julius Randle added 22 for New Orleans, which has alternated wins and losses in its past 10 games.
Paul George had 25 points and 11 rebounds, and Dennis Schroder scored 24 points for Oklahoma City, who have won five of their last seven contests.
Also, Jeremy Lamb sank the game winning shot with less than a second left to lift the Charlotte Hornets to a thrilling 108-107 victory over the struggling Detroit Pistons, who failed to hold onto a 10-point lead late in the contest.
Lamb’s 22-foot jump shot with 0.3 seconds on the clock resulted in a penalty to the Hornets. Lamb’s teammate Malik Monk ran onto the court before the final horn sounded to celebrate and was called for a technical. The basket still counted and the Pistons ran out of time.
Kemba Walker finished with a game-high 31 points and had nine assists and eight rebounds for the Hornets, who won their third straight and moved into sixth place in the Eastern Conference — a half-game ahead of Detroit.
