Throughout most of the night, it seemed as if the Dallas Mavericks had the game under control.
They were hosting the Raptors — who are the top team in the Eastern Conference and on a six game winning streak — on Tuesday night. But the last-place team in the Western Conference didn't care.
Yet after falling victim to a 17-0 run and dropping into a 11-point hole, the Raptors responded. A late fourth-quarter push nearly gave them a comeback win, but it wasn't enough.
Dallas escaped with a 98-93 win on Tuesday, knocking off the East's top team.
Shake it off, back at it tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/Tn5APpDLPC
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) December 27, 2017
The Mavericks jumped up early, mounting an eight point lead after 12 minutes and pushing it to a nine-point lead midway through the second quarter. The Raptors bounced back slightly before half, thanks to 16 first-half points from point guard Kyle Lowry, to bring them within just three points at the break.
Toronto kept pushing until it had a seven-point lead late in the third quarter. Yet, just as quickly as it had come, the lead was gone. Dallas went on a 17-0 run to retake control of the game at the end of the third quarter behind eight points from J.J. Barea to give it an 11-point lead.
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From there, the Mavericks held on through the end of the game, fending off a late Raptors run, to give them the five-point win.
Lowry led the Raptors with 23 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Jonas Valanciunas finished with a double-double, recording 17 points and 11 rebounds. Serge Ibaka also grabbed the double-double, ending with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
Barea led the Mavericks with 20 points off the bench. Dirk Nowitzki finished with 18 points, and Harrison Barnes added 16.
The Raptors are back in action on Wednesday when they'll take on the Thunder in Oklahoma City.
DeRozan's rough night
Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan had been on a roll.
DeRozan averaged 34 points in his three games last week, earning the NBA's Eastern Conference Player of the Week Award on Tuesday afternoon. He even dropped a career-high 45 points and a career-best six three-pointers against the 76ers on Thursday.
Yet he struggled in Dallas.
DeRozan finished with just eight points, five assists and three rebounds, shooting only 3-of-16 from the field.
the three-time NBA All-Star is averaging nearly 25 points, five assists and 4.4 rebounds per game so far this season.