NEW ORLEANS – DeMar DeRozan scored 30 points, Kyle Lowry had two big baskets in overtime and the Toronto Raptors held off the New Orleans Hornets 104-97 on Friday night.
The Raptors, who never trailed in the second half, scored nine of the first 11 points in overtime after blowing a seven-point lead in the last 1:30 of regulation. Amir Johnson scored under the basket to give Toronto a 93-91 lead. Lowry then drove the baseline for a reverse layup and hit a 3-pointer to make it 98-93.
DeRozan finished off the Hornets with two free throws and an outside shot that made it 102-95 with 31.7 seconds left.
Lowry, coming off the bench after missing seven straight games with a partial triceps tear, had 17 points. Alan Anderson added 14 points for the Raptors.
Rookie big man Anthony Davis led New Orleans with 25 points. Greivis Vasquez added 20 points, 14 assists and nine rebounds, falling just shy of his first career triple-double.
The Raptors won for only the third time in 18 road games, while the Hornets fell to 3-12 at home.
With Toronto leading 85-83, DeRozan scored on a driving layup, then stole Austin Rivers' pass and converted a three-point play to make the score 90-83 with 1:38 left.
The Hornets responded with a 3-pointer from Brian Roberts and a driving layup by Vasquez to cut the margin to 90-88. After DeRozan sank one of two free throws, the Hornets' Ryan Anderson drained a tying 3-pointer that hit the rim twice before falling in with 8.1 seconds left.
DeRozan had a chance to win it at the buzzer, but his fallaway from the baseline clanged off the rim.
The Hornets hardly hit anything in overtime, going 2 of 11 from the field.
New Orleans tied the score three times in the third quarter and again on Anderson's clutch 3 near the end of regulation but could not pull ahead. Vasquez missed an open 3 in overtime that would have given the Hornets a 96-95 lead.
Leading 72-68, the Raptors went up by double digits with a 9-0 run in the fourth. Lowry scored a fast-break layup off Anderson's turnover, Johnson scored and Terrence Ross hit two free throws with 6:29 left to make the score 81-68.
The Hornets responded with a quick 8-0 spurt on a three-point play by Davis, two free throws from Vasquez and a 3 by Anderson that cut the deficit to 83-78 with 4:04 left.
Toronto scored 23 points off 16 New Orleans turnovers. The Hornets forced only seven miscues, getting five points off them.
The Raptors also took advantage of several Hornets droughts. New Orleans missed 11 of its last 14 shots in the first half and went cold in the second half, making only three field goals from the 3:30 mark of the third quarter to the 6:15 mark of the fourth.
The Raptors led 48-42 at halftime despite shooting 16 of 41 from the floor (39 percent) and 1 of 12 from 3-point range. The difference was free throws and turnovers.
Toronto made 15 of 18 foul shots, including 7 of 8 from DeRozan, and committed only two turnovers. The Hornets had eight miscues and were only 8 of 13 on free throws.
NOTES: Lowry came off the bench because Raptors coach Dwane Casey thought Jose Calderon deserved to keep his starting job. "He's earned it," Casey said. Calderon then shot 1 of 6. ... Hornets reserve forward Jason Smith returned from a seven-game absence due to a torn labrum, scoring two points in 12:10. ... Toronto outscored New Orleans 49-31 off the bench. ... Hornets center Robin Lopez, who has scored 85 points in his last four games, had nine on 3-of-8 shooting. ... Anderson had a game-high 12 rebounds.
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