Los Angeles-Kawhi Leonard delivered 29 points and 10 rebounds as the NBA-leading Toronto Raptors won their fifth consecutive game by cruising past the Miami Heat 125-115 on Sunday.
Kyle Lowry finished with 12 points and 10 assists for the Raptors, who are off to their best 21-game start in history with 17 wins and four losses.
Jonas Valanciunas had 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Pascal Siakam finished just two points shy of his career best with 21 points.
Veteran Dwyane Wade turned back the clock by scoring a season-high 35 points. It was the most points ever for a Heat player coming off the bench, but they still lost for the seventh time in their last nine games.
And that won’t cut it against Toronto, who are 11-0 against teams with losing records.
Josh Richardson scored 19 points and Bam Adebayo had 16 points and a career-high 21 rebounds in the loss.
The Raptors, who made a season-high 17 three-pointers in Friday’s win over Atlanta, shot 11 for 35 from beyond the arc against the Heat.
Magic beats Lakers
Elsewhere, Nikola Vucevic finished with 31 points and 15 rebounds as the Orlando Magic snapped the Los Angeles Lakers’ three-game winning streak with a 108-104 victory.
Terrence Ross had 16 points including a clutch layup with 34 seconds left as the Magic beat the Lakers for the second time in eight days. On November 17, Orlando defeated Los Angeles 130-117.
“We’re trying to build something, and wins like these can really help you build some momentum,” Vucevic said.
Aaron Gordon had 17 points and D.J. Augustin added 12 points and nine assists for the Magic.
LeBron James had 24 points and seven assists for the Lakers, who have won six of their last seven NBA games. Kyle Kuzma scored 21 points and Brandon Ingram added 17.
The Magic used a rock-solid defense and some timely scoring by Gordon and Vucevic to outscore the Lakers 35-19 in the third quarter and seize a 86-71 lead.
James and Kuzma were a combined zero-for-five in the quarter in which the team shot just five-of-21.
James said they need to become more consistent.
“Defensively, we kind of broke down and the energy level was a little lower than our expectations, and they took advantage of that,” James said.
In the fourth, James missed a three-pointer and Ross made him pay by driving to the rim for a basket which broke a 104-104 tie.
The Lakers’ Kentavious Caldwell-Pope missed another shot from beyond the arc on the following Lakers possession, and Gordon got a dunk to help seal the victory for the Magic.
