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 Kyle Lowry scored 27 points, and the Raptors remained undefeated by
topping the Dallas Mavericks 102-91 at American Airlines Center.
"We are off to great start," Toronto coach Dwane Casey said, "but we
have to remember that this is a marathon, not a sprint."
The Raptors rode a 12-0 burst in the fourth quarter to take control
in the opener of a four-game road trip.
The quick start is not going to the heads of a young squad that won
49 games last season.
"We just want to go out there and win every opportunity we get,"
Raptors' DeMar DeRozan said. "The previous games don't matter, but
the one that we got next (does). That's how we're treating this
season."
The Mavericks (2-2) dropped their home opener after going 2-1 on a
West Coast road trip. Dallas, who swept Toronto last season, held a
halftime lead and were up by four points midway through the final
period.
Lowry shot nine-for-15 from the floor, including four-for-five from
beyond the three-point line, and added 10 assists. He also had three
steals and two blocks in 37 minutes.
"He has been real solid for us and is showing amazing leadership
qualities," Casey said. "He is a very tough kid. He got big stops
for us. It's early in the season, and we will be very mindful to try
and keep him fresh for this long season."
DeRozan battled back from early foul trouble to score 20 after
logging just seven minutes in the first half.
The Raptors made 23 of 26 free throws, with Lowry sinking all eight
of his foul shots.
Mavs' Dirk Nowitzki scored 18 but had only five points in the second
half. Deron Williams scored 13 on four-of-15 shooting, and Dallas
shot only 38.4 percent.
"We have gotten back to defense," Casey said. "That's what it takes
to get to get wins in this league. It takes defensive commitment
from every player on the team.
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"When the offense is not clicking for us, it's going to be our
defense that keeps us in the game, and hopefully our offense will
come around."
The Raptors' 12-point spurt turned an 86-82 deficit into a 92-86
advantage. Luis Scola (19 points and 12 rebounds) hit the team's
only other three-pointer beside the four from Lowry during the
game-turning surge.
The Raptors finished the game with a 20-5 run.
"They made it more their type of game: physical, grinding, lot of
physical contact," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said.
"They turned it into a boxing match, and we needed to have it be a
basketball game. We need to be a little tougher overall at both
ends."
The Mavericks made up a nine-point, first-quarter deficit to take a
51-49 lead into halftime. A 19-4 run highlighted by two
three-pointers from Nowitzki put Dallas up 39-33.
Nowitzki had 13 points in the first half on four-for-4fourshooting.
Toronto conclude their first back-to-back of the season on Wednesday
at Oklahoma City.
The Mavericks' three-game homestand continues on Thursday against
the Charlotte Hornets.
(Compiled by Peter Rutherford)
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reserved.]
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