Kyle Lowry had 20 points and 12 assists and the Toronto Raptors pulled away for a 105-89 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night, becoming the first Eastern Conference team to 20 wins.
Patrick Patterson and Lou Williams each had eight points in the fourth quarter and Lowry scored six as the Raptors outscored the Nets 29-16 over the last 12 minutes to wrap up their fourth consecutive win.
Jonas Valanciunas added 16 points and 10 assists with Patterson, Amir Johnson and Greivis Vasquez each scoring 13.
The Raptors (20-6) have had three winning streaks of at least four games this season.
Mason Plumlee had 23 points to lead the Nets, Joe Johnson scored 17 and Mirza Teletovic added 14 in the first meeting between the Atlantic Division foes since Brooklyn's seven-game win in the first round of the playoffs.
The Nets were coming off a 95-91 loss at home to Miami on Tuesday night in a game that was delayed because the Barclays Center roof was leaking rain.
Williams buried a 3-pointer that sparked a 9-2 flurry for the Raptors in the fourth quarter that pushed their lead from six points to 13 with a little more than five minutes remaining.
Brooklyn was never within single digits after that.
Earlier, Lowry had 10 points in the first quarter but Toronto trailed by as many as 11. The Raptors shot better than 61 percent in the second and took a 53-52 lead into halftime. They led 76-73 going into the fourth quarter.
Game Notes
Deron Williams had 11 points and seven assists for the Nets ... The teams split their four regular-season meetings last season ... The Raptors face the Pistons in Detroit on Friday ... The Nets remain on the road to face the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday ... Wednesday was Drake Night at Air Canada Centre, the second year in a row the Raptors honored the Toronto-born rapper. Ticket holders received a T-shirt bearing the team's logo and "Drake Night" on the back.
[SportsNetwork.com]
