FILE PHOTO –Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry (7) looks on against the Dallas Mavericks during the second half at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Kyle Lowry had 20 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, Norman Powell had 30 points and the Toronto Raptors defeated the visiting Houston Rockets 122-111 Friday night at Tampa.
Lowry recorded his 16th career triple-double as a Raptor as the Rockets took their 10th straight loss.
The Raptors were without Pascal Siakam, coach Nick Nurse and five assistant coaches because of health and safety protocols. Assistant coach Sergio Scariolo took Nurse’s place on the bench.
Fred VanVleet added 25 points for the Raptors, who had lost their two previous games. DeAndre’ Bembry had 13 points and OG Anunoby had 11.
Victor Oladipo had 27 points for Houston and John Wall had 21 points and 12 assists. Eric Gordon had 17 points and P.J. Tucker and Danuel House Jr., each scored 11 points.
The Raptors, who led by eight points at halftime, had a 23-point advantage during the third quarter before taking a 15-point lead into the fourth.
The Rockets scored the first eight points of the fourth quarter to trim the lead to seven. The Raptors went up by 12 points on Powell’s dunk with 5:57 remaining. Gordon’s 3-pointer with 4:28 left cut the lead to six. VanVleet hit a 3-pointer and Toronto led by nine with 2:27 left.
The Rockets led 31-30 after the first quarter.
Powell’s layup gave Toronto an 11-point lead with 7:12 left in the second quarter.
Wall injured his right ankle when he missed a layup with 5:40 to play in the quarter, but was able to continue.
The Raptors used an 8-0 run to take a 15-point lead with 1:14 to play in the second quarter. Tucker made a 3-pointer with 1.5 seconds to play in the first half to cut Toronto’s lead to 67-59.
Powell’s 3-pointer increased the lead to 23 points with 6:20 to go in the third quarter. The Rockets answered with a 7-0 run, cutting the lead to 16 points. Wall’s layup reduced the lead to 15 with 1:31 remaining in the quarter. Each team scored five points to finish the third quarter, which ended with Toronto leading 95-80.