(Field Level Media) Immanuel Quickley scored 25 points and the Toronto Raptors defeated the visiting Houston Rockets 107-104 last night.
RJ Barrett added 21 points for the Raptors, who have won two in a row. Scottie Barnes had 13 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists and two steals, Jakob Poeltl had 16 points, 13 rebounds, six blocked shots and three steals, and Bruce Brown added 11 points.
Dillon Brooks scored 20 points and Cam Whitmore followed with 17 for the Rockets, who defeated the Raptors 135-106 last week in Houston. Jabari Smith Jr. had 12 points and 11 rebounds, Aaron Holiday also scored 12 points, and Jeff Green chipped in 11 points and six rebounds.
Whitmore left the game in the third quarter with a sprained ankle. The Raptors took a 17-point lead into the fourth quarter.
Smith’s 3-pointer cut the lead to 11 with 9:35 to play in the fourth. Brooks scored from long range to reduce the margin to five with 4:35 left.
Houston pulled to within four with 30.3 seconds remaining, and Brooks hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to one with 23.3 seconds to play. Barrett made two free throws to push the lead back to three, and Holiday and Green missed 3-point attempts in the final five seconds.
Gary Trent Jr. had four steals in the first quarter to help Toronto to a 34-20 lead.
The Rockets opened the second quarter with a 19-2 run to take the lead. Toronto used a 10-2 burst to regain the lead. Barrett added a 3-pointer to bump the margin to nine points with 3:51 left, and the Raptors led 61-49 at halftime.
Toronto shot 48 percent (24-for-50) from the field in the first half, with Quickley scoring 15 points.
Houston shot 39.6 percent (19-for-48) in the first half led, by Whitmore’s 17 points off the bench.
Toronto opened the third quarter on an 11-1 run. Quickley’s 3-pointer stretched the lead to 22 with 9:22 to play in the third. Holiday’s 3-pointer trimmed the margin to 14 with 3:47 to go. Jontay Porter scored the final five points of the third quarter to increase Toronto’s lead to 88-71.
Former Raptor Fred VanVleet (adductor strain) did not play for Houston but received a video tribute.
Ochai Agbaji and Kelly Olynyk, obtained Thursday in a trade with the Utah Jazz, did not play for Toronto.
