Valciunas scores 26, Raptors beat Nets for 9th straight win
NEW YORK — Jonas Valanciunas had 26 points and 14 rebounds, and the Toronto Raptors won their ninth straight and 16th of 17, 116-102 over the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday night.
DeMar DeRozan and reserve Fred VanVleet scored 15 points apiece, and Kyle Lowry added 11 points and 11 assists for the Eastern Conference-leading Raptors, who held Brooklyn to 35 points after halftime and won a franchise record-tying seventh straight road game.
D’Angelo Russell hit his first seven shots — all 3-pointers — and scored 24 points in the first quarter for the Nets, who have lost 11 straight to the Raptors. Russell finished with 32 points, and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson scored 19.
Toronto trailed 74-59 after Dante Cunningham’s tip-in layup in the opening minutes of the second half.