Ross leads Raptors past Cavs, 98-91
TORONTO (AP) -- Terrence Ross scored 20 points, Jonas Valanciunas had 18 and the Toronto Raptors snapped the Cleveland Cavaliers' six-game winning streak with a 98-91 victory on Friday night.
Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan each had 14 points as the Atlantic Division-leading Raptors won for the fourth time in five games.
Toronto reached the 30-win plateau in its 55th game, a feat that took 78 games to achieve last season. The Raptors also improved to 10-4 at home since Jan. 1.
Luol Deng had 21 points and 11 rebounds and Kyrie Irving scored 17 as the Cavaliers lost for the first time since Feb. 5 against the Los Angeles Lakers. Cleveland failed to record its first seven-game winning streak since LeBron James led the team to eight straight in 2010.
Tristan Thompson scored 13 points for Cleveland, whose three-game road winning streak also came to an end. The Cavaliers had not lost away from home since a Feb. 3 defeat at Dallas.
Playing in his hometown for the first time, Cleveland's Anthony Bennett scored nine points. Bennett was the top pick in last year's draft, becoming the first Canadian to be selected first overall.
Cleveland center Spencer Hawes, acquired in a trade with Philadelphia Wednesday, made his Cavaliers debut, scoring seven points and grabbing 10 rebounds in 26 minutes.
Former Raptors guard Jarrett Jack hit a 3-pointer with 45 seconds left in the fourth quarter to cap a 7-0 Cleveland run and cut it to 93-87. After a Toronto timeout, John Salmons answered with a driving layup, putting the Raptors up eight points with 28 seconds left. Lowry and DeRozan combined for three free throws in the final 10 seconds to seal the win.
Toronto missed nine of its first 10 field goal attempts and 14 of its first 17 in an ugly opening quarter. Ross made three of Toronto's five field goals and scored eight points in the first to keep the Raptors close, but Cleveland led 22-16 after one.
Deng had six points in the second and Irving had five as the Cavaliers took a 44-39 lead at halftime.
Toronto took the lead with a 10-2 run early in the second half and kept on pushing. Valanciunas scored 10 in the third and DeRozan and Ross each added six as Toronto outscored Cleveland 37-21 to take a 76-65 lead into the fourth.
NOTES: Lowry made his career-best 130th 3-pointer of the season in the fourth quarter. Lowry made 129 with Houston in 2010-11. ... Cleveland C Anderson Varejao missed his fifth straight game with a sore back. ... Irving and Lowry both had nine assists. ... Raptors G Nando DeColo, acquired from San Antonio on Thursday, arrived in Toronto Friday afternoon but was inactive. ... Friday marked the 15th anniversary of Toronto's first game at Air Canada Centre, a 102-87 victory over the Vancouver Grizzlies.