Kyle Lowry relishes any chance to raise his offensive game in the fourth quarter and the Toronto Raptors needed just about every one of his big baskets to hold off the Los Angeles Lakers.
Lowry scored 20 of his season-high 41 points in the fourth as the Raptors stopped a two-game losing streak with a 123-114 victory on Sunday.
He went five from six and hit three of his six three-pointers in the fourth quarter. With one high-difficulty shot after another, the diminutive guard kept the Raptors on top in the face of a persistent Los Angeles Lakers rally.
Photo: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA Today
“It was my time to go out there and be more aggressive,” said Lowry, who finished two points shy of his career high. “If it’s taking the extra shot or making more shots, or creating more shots, it’s just a chance to go out there and play basketball. Playing in the fourth quarter is really fun.”
Lowry also had nine rebounds and seven assists, while DeMar DeRozan scored 31 points in another big game in his hometown.
The Atlantic Division-leading Raptors’ two scoring stars got them back in winning form on the fifth stop of their six-game road trip.
“He could have had more,” DeRozan said of Lowry’s fourth-quarter dominance. “The fourth quarter has got to be ours on both ends. We’ve got to put our mark on it.”
Toronto got their fourth straight win over the Lakers, sweeping the season series for the second straight year.
Nick Young hit seven three-pointers and scored 26 points for the Lakers, who emerged from a miserable month with their 15th loss in 17 games, despite a stirring late surge.
“That’s a good team,” Lakers coach Luke Walton said of the Raptors. “They have some All-Star Olympians that really carried the load for them. [Lowry] had it cooking.”
Brazil has four teams, more than any other country, in the expanded Club World Cup that kicked off yesterday in the US, but for SE Palmeiras, the competition holds a special meaning: winning it would provide some redemption. Under coach Abel Ferreira since 2020, Palmeiras lifted two Copa Libertadores titles, plus Brazilian league, cup and state championships. Even before Ferreira, it boasted another South American crown and 11 league titles. The only major trophy missing is a world champions’ title. Other Brazilian clubs like Fluminense FC and Botafogo FR, also in the tournament, have never won it either, but the problem for Palmeiras
Lionel Messi drew vast crowds and showed flashes of his brilliance when his Inter Miami side were held to a goalless draw by African giants Al-Ahly as the revamped FIFA Club World Cup got off to a festive start on Saturday. Fans showed up en masse for the Group A clash at the Hard Rock Stadium, home to the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, but Messi could not fully deliver, his best chance coming through a last-second attempt that was deflected onto the crossbar. Inter Miami next face FC Porto on Thursday in Atlanta, while Al-Ahly, who benefited from raucous, massive support, are to
Twelve days after winning her second Grand Slam title at the French Open, Coco Gauff fell at the first hurdle on grass in Berlin on Thursday as beaten Paris finalist Aryna Sabalenka advanced to the quarter-finals. Recipient of a first round bye, American Gauff lost 6-3, 6-3 to Chinese qualifier Wang Xinyu as world number one Sabalenka beat Rebeka Masarova 6-2, 7-6 (8/6) in her second round tie. Winner of 10 main tour titles, including the US Open in 2023 and the WTA Finals last year, Gauff has yet to lift a trophy in a grass-court tournament. “After I won the first
Sergio Ramos on Tuesday outfoxed two Inter players and artfully headed home the first goal for Monterrey at the FIFA Club World Cup. The 39-year-old Ramos slipped through the penalty area for the score just as he did for so many years in the shirts of Real Madrid and Spain’s national team, with whom he combined smarts, timing and physicality. Ramos’ clever goal and his overall defensive play at the Rose Bowl were major factors in Monterrey’s impressive 1-1 draw against the UEFA Champions League finalists in the clubs’ first match of the tournament. “There is always a joy to contribute to the
RSS