NBA Wrap: Toronto Raptors win eight straight, Nets stun Thunder

THE Toronto Raptors picked up their eight straight victory, while the Brooklyn Nets stunned the Oklahoma City Thunder. It’s all in the NBA Wrap.

THE Toronto Raptors picked up their eight straight victory, the Houston Rockets won a Texan battle against the Dallas Mavericks, while the Brooklyn Nets stunned the Oklahoma City Thunder.

It’s all in the NBA Wrap.

Houston Rockets center Josh Smith shoots a three-point against the Dallas Mavericks during the second half.

HOUSTON ROCKETS 115 — DALLAS MAVERICKS 104

James Harden had 23 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists, Trevor Ariza scored a season-high 29 and Houston rallied past Dallas.

The Rockets trailed by one entering the fourth quarter, but they used 14-4 run, highlighted by consecutive 3-pointers by Ariza, Jason Terry and Josh Smith, to take a 98-89 lead with about nine minutes left.

Chandler Parsons made a layup for the Mavericks before Houston scored five straight points to push the lead to 103-91. Terry started that stretch with a 3-pointer and Smith juked Dirk Nowitzki to get open for a hook shot, and the Mavericks didn’t threaten again.

Parsons had a season-high 31 points for the Mavericks, who dropped their second straight game.

TORONTO RAPTORS 112 — LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS 94

Kyle Lowry scored 21 points and Jonas Valanciunas had 20 as the Toronto Raptors beat the Los Angeles Clippers 112-94 on Sunday for their season-high eighth straight win.

DeMar DeRozan and Terrence Ross both added 18 points each for the Raptors. Ross shot 5 for 7 on 3-pointers and totaled at least 10 points off the bench for the fourth straight game.

Chris Paul had 23 points and 11 assists for the Clippers, and DeAndre Jordan had 15 and 13 rebounds. JJ Redick scored 17 points for Los Angeles.

The Raptors beat the Clippers for the fourth straight time, completing a second straight season sweep. It also marked the first time in franchise history the Raptors swept both Los Angeles teams in the same season, having beaten the Lakers in both meetings already.

The Raptors’ winning streak is the second-longest in franchise history, one short of the team-record set in the 2001-02 season.

Toronto Raptors' DeMar DeRozan drives to the basket against Los Angeles Clippers' Paul Pierce during first half.

PHILADELPHIA 76ERS 92 — BOSTON CELTICS 112

Jae Crowder and Isaiah Thomas scored 20 points each and Boston cruised past Philadelphia.

Avery Bradley had 19 points and Marcus Smart added 16 off the bench for the Celtics, who have won five of seven.

Robert Covington scored 25 points to lead Philadelphia.

The game originally was scheduled for Saturday but was postponed due to Winter Storm Jonas. With Philadelphia’s airport closed on Saturday, the Celtics instead practiced in Boston and arrived in Philadelphia on Sunday morning.

Boston Celtics' Avery Bradley goes up for the shot during the second half.

BROOKLYN NETS 116 — OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER 106

Brook Lopez scored a season-high 31 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and Brooklyn snapped Oklahoma City’s seven-game winning streak.

Kevin Durant had 32 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, but Oklahoma City never led in the game that was delayed four hours by the blizzard that dumped more than 2 feet of snow on New York on Saturday.

Russell Westbrook finished with 27 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists as the Thunder lost for just the fifth time in 27 games.

Taking advantage of a Thunder team missing starting center Steven Adams, Lopez shot 11 for 19 from the field in bouncing back from one of his worst performances of the season. He had been limited to just eight points Friday in a loss to Utah.

Oklahoma City Thunder center Enes Kanter defends from the floor as Brooklyn Nets center Brook Lopez shoots in the second half.

Originally published as NBA Wrap: Toronto Raptors win eight straight, Nets stun Thunder