The Associated Press
Jose M. Romero
PHOENIX–DeMar DeRozan already had matched his season-high with 37 points.
With his team up four in the closing seconds, he was needed on the defensive end.
DeRozan forced T.J. Warren to take a difficult one-handed floater from 12 feet out and with the miss, the Toronto Raptors sealed a 115-109 victory over the Phoenix Suns last night.
“I’m just understanding tendencies,” DeRozan said.
“We did a great job, we got the rebound, and we made our free throws,” he added.
The Raptors have won seven-of-eight, and at 18-8 are tied for the second-best start in team history through 26 games.
DeRozan scored 18 points in the third quarter, and Toronto led by as many as 15 before the Suns rallied in the fourth.
“It was on the starters and myself to come out [of halftime] with that energy and try to get us going,” he noted.
Toronto went 3-1 on its four-game trip.
Phoenix, meanwhile, has lost five-straight and seven-of-eight–the last four losses with star guard Devin Booker sidelined by a groin injury.
Serge Ibaka had 21 points and 13 rebounds while Jonas Valanciunas added 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Raptors.
“JV [Valanciunas] was rolling to the basket, getting what he wanted,” said Raptors’ coach Dwane Casey.
“We just felt we needed rebounding.”
Valanciunas said his job is simple.
“It doesn’t matter which spot on the court I’m in,” he reasoned. “They pay me to fight for the rebounds.”
Troy Daniels led the Suns with a season-high 32 points on 11-of-16 shooting, including 7-of-10 on three-pointers.
His “three” with 11:12 to go in the fourth quarter, and a short jumper moments later, cut the Raptors’ lead to 92-87.
Then the Suns took advantage of a long scoring drought for the Raptors to pull within three with 9:22 left.
“My teammates were finding me,” Daniels said. “I had a couple go in early which is very important and then the rest were just falling.
“Even the ones I miss I think they are going in,” he added.
“I think as a shooter you have to think like that.”
The Suns got as close as 111-109 with 22 seconds to play when Daniels knocked down a 17-footer. But DeRozan and Kyle Lowry each hit a pair of free throws in the final seconds.
Greg Monroe added 17 points and 11 rebounds for Phoenix while Warren had 17 points.
The Suns went ahead 46-43 midway through the second quarter on the third three-pointer of the night for Daniels, who scored 14 first-half points.
But the Raptors finished the half on a 15-6 run to take a 58-52 lead.
“Tried to keep him on the floor as much as we can,” Suns’ coach Jay Triano said of Daniels.
“He’s got an NBA skill of being able to really shoot the basketball and it’s good to see him have a great night.”
Toronto went up 79-68 on Ibaka’s “three” with 5:24 left in the third.
Lowry’s first field goal of the game came at 3:56, when his “three” made it 82-68.
He had missed his first five shots before that.
Elsewhere in the NBA, the L.A. Clippers beat Orlando 106-95, Oklahoma City downed Indiana 100-95, Washington shaded Memphis 93-87, Boston topped Denver 124-118, and Portland upended Miami 102-95.
New Orleans beat Milwaukee 115-108, Chicago nipped Utah 103-100, and Houston bounced Charlotte 108-96.
