TORONTO — Point guard Kyle Lowry scored 26 points and dished out 10 assists and the Toronto Raptors extended their winning streak to a franchise-record 10 games Friday by defeating the New York Knicks 103-93.
The Raptors previous record winning streak was nine games from March 22-April 9, 2002.
The Raptors (31-15) led by as many as 14 points in the second quarter and led by 10 points entering the fourth quarter. The Knicks crept to within seven points before the Raptors stretched the lead to 11 points on a 3-pointer by Lowry with 1:45 to play.
Lowry scored 10 points in the fourth quarter.
Guard DeMar DeRozan also had 26 points for the Raptors. Center Jonas Valanciunas added 11 points and grabbed a season-best 18 rebounds and reserved forward Patrick Patterson chipped in with 10 points. Reserve guard Cory Joseph chipped in 11 points.
Guard Arron Afflalo scored 20 points and for the Knicks (22-26), who have lost four in a row.
Guards Sasha Vujacic and Jerian Grant added 13 points each for New York and guard Langston Galloway had 12.
The Raptors led 27-21 after the first quarter led by nine points from DeRozan. Afflalo had seven points for New York.
A 3-pointer by Lowry with 3:54 to play in the second quarter put the Raptors ahead by 14 points.
Led by 12 points from DeRozan, the Raptors took a 53-43 advantage into the intermission. Lowry added 10 points and seven assists in the first half and Valanciunas nabbed 11 rebounds and scored six points.
Afflalo scored 11 points in the first half and Galloway added eight points.
The Knicks trimmed the Raptors’ lead to one point on a driving, floating jumper by forward Lance Thomas with 6:39 to play in the third quarter.
The Raptors came back to get their lead to nine points on a jump shot by Patterson.
DeRozan’s jumper raised the lead to 11 with two minutes to play in the third. Toronto led 73-63 after three quarters.
The Knicks got to within seven points of the Raptors early in the fourth quarter. The Raptors led by 12 points with 6:01 to play in the fourth on a hook shot by reserve center Bismack Biyombo.
NOTES: Knicks All-Star F Carmelo Anthony (sore left knee) missed his second consecutive game. He hopes to return Friday for the game against the Phoenix Suns. … Raptors All-Star G Kyle Lowry (sprained left wrist) started Thursday against the Knicks. He was a game-time decision after being injured with four minutes left in the win over the Washington Wizards on Tuesday. X-rays were negative. … The Knicks were also without G Jose Calderon (groin), who was injured late in the loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday, and F/C Kristaps Porzingis (upper respiratory illness), a late scratch. … Raptors G DeMar DeRozan was named to the NBA Eastern Conference All-Star team as a reserve. … The Raptors complete a seven-game homestand on Saturday against the Detroit Pistons.