DeRozan Scores 34, Raptors Beat Celtics 115-109

TORONTO -- Guard DeMar DeRozan scored 34 points, and the Toronto Raptors defeated the Boston Celtics 115-109 Wednesday to extend their winning streak to a season-best six games.

Center Jonas Valanciunas added 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Raptors (27-15).

Boston forward Jae Crowder cut the Raptors' lead to two points late in the game, but DeRozan came right back with a 19-foot pullup jumper to restore Toronto's lead to four points with 46.9 seconds to play.

After a Boston miss, Toronto point guard Kyle Lowry made two free throws with 14.8 seconds to play to make the lead six points and clinch the game.

Forward Luis Scola scored 18 points for Toronto, forward Terrence Ross contributed 14, and Lowry scored 14 points and had eight assists.

Guard Isaiah Thomas scored 21 points and had 10 assists for the Celtics, who lost their second game in a row.

Guard Avery Bradley added 19 points, forward Kelly Olynyk had 18, Crowder 17 and guard/forward Evan Turner 11 for Boston (22-21).

Both teams shot well from the floor: 55.4 percent for Toronto and 50.6 percent for Boston.

The Raptors opened a 13-point lead in the first quarter. They led 35-27 at the end of the quarter thanks to 11 points from Scola and 10 from DeRozan.

The Celtics went on a 9-0 run late in the second quarter to take a six-point lead. They entered the second half with a 62-56 lead led by Crowder's 12 first-half points. Scola led all first-half scorers with 15 points.

The Raptors regained the lead, 70-68, on a 3-pointer by Lowry with 7:59 to play in the third quarter. There were five lead changes and six ties in the quarter before Valanciunas gave Toronto a five-point lead on a cutting layup with 1:24 left in the third.

DeRozan's turnaround jumper bumped the lead to seven points. Toronto led 96-90 after the three quarters.

Thomas cut the lead to two points on a jumper with 6:39 left, but DeRozan and forward Patrick Patterson scored to boost the Raptors' lead to six points.

A running layup by Thomas reduced the lead to two points. After a Raptors miss, Bradley tied the game at 105 on a 19-foot pullup jumper with 3:20 to play.

Lowry responded with a 3-pointer. After Olynyk scored for Boston, Ross hit a 3-pointer and Toronto led 111-107 with 2:16 to go.

NOTES: Former Raptors F Amir Johnson returned to Air Canada Center for the first time since signing with the Celtics as a free agent in July. He spent six seasons in Toronto. "Great fan base," he said of Toronto. "I always said it's not just the city; we had the whole country behind us. It was pretty cool going on a couple runs and having the country cheering for us." ... The Raptors won the first meeting of the season between the teams, 113-103 on Oct. 30 in Boston. ... Toronto recalled F Anthony Bennett, F Bruno Caboclo and G Delon Wright from Raptors 905 of the NBA Development League. ... The Celtics return home for a game on Friday against the Chicago Bulls. The Raptors will play the third game of seven straight at home on Friday against the Miami Heat.