TORONTO – The way Blake Griffin saw it, a sloppy effort by the Los Angeles Clippers only made things easier for Rudy Gay and the fired-up Raptors.
Gay wowed a sellout crowd by scoring 20 points in his Toronto debut, leading the Raptors to a 98-73 rout of the short-handed Clippers on Friday night.
“The way we played had a big effect on their flow,” Griffin said. “Not to take anything away from them — they did a good job — but our defense was terrible.”
The Clippers were pretty terrible on offense, too, setting season lows for points and field goal percentage (34.7). Los Angeles’ previous low in points was 76 at Brooklyn on Nov. 23, while its previous low in field goal percentage was 36.6 on Jan. 19 in a home win over Washington.
“We didn’t execute very well, we didn’t shoot it very well,” Los Angeles coach Vinny Del Negro said. “We struggled in a lot of areas.”
Amir Johnson had 19 points and matched his career high with 16 rebounds for the Raptors. DeMar DeRozan also scored 19 as Toronto welcomed Gay with a winning effort two days after the high-scoring forward was acquired from the Memphis Grizzlies in a three-team trade that included Detroit.
“It felt great to be accepted like I (was) today,” said Gay.
John Lucas scored 17 and Aaron Gray had seven points and 12 rebounds for the Raptors, who handed the Clippers their fourth straight loss in Toronto and their largest defeat of the season.
“Our guys came in locked and loaded,” Raptors coach Dwane Casey said.
Griffin had 17 points and nine rebounds for the Clippers, who were without point guard Chris Paul (bruised right kneecap) for the sixth straight game. Los Angeles forward Matt Barnes served a one-game suspension for striking Minnesota’s Greg Stiemsma on Wednesday.
Pacers 102, Heat 89
In Indianapolis, David West scored 30 points and Paul George added 15, leading Indiana to a victory over Miami.
LeBron James led the Heat with 28 points.
Knicks 96, Bucks 86
In New York, Carmelo Anthony scored 25 points, Amare Stoudemire had 17 points and seven rebounds off the bench, and the Knicks extended their winning streak to three games.
Celtics 97, Magic 84
In Boston, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett each had a double-double, and the Celtics responded to yet another blow to their lineup with a win over Orlando, which lost its eighth straight game.
Grizzlies 85, Wizards 76
In Memphis, Mike Conley scored 18 points and Tayshaun Prince added 14 in his Grizzlies debut, including a pair of key fourth-quarter jumpers, as the hosts defeated Washington.
Nets 93, Bulls 89
In New York, Brook Lopez scored 20 points through three quarters, then Brooklyn turned to its bench to beat short-handed Chicago.
76ers 89, Kings 80
In Philadelphia, Thaddeus Young had 23 points and 15 rebounds, and Jrue Holiday scored 21 to lead the 76ers past Sacramento.
Pistons 117, Cavaliers 99
In Auburn Hills, Michigan, Brandon Knight had 20 points and 10 assists, and Detroit never trailed against Cleveland.
Nuggets 113, Hornets 98
In Denver, Ty Lawson had 21 points and 13 assists, Andre Iguodala scored 24 and the Nuggets beat New Orleans for their sixth straight victory.
Jazz 86, Trail Blazers 77
In Salt Lake City, Al Jefferson had 21 points, including two one-handed shots in the lane to clinch the victory, and the Jazz held off Portland.
Mavericks 109, Suns 99
In Phoenix, O.J. Mayo scored 20 points to lead six Dallas players in double figures as the Mavericks beat the Suns.
Lakers 111, Timberwolves 100
In Minneapolis, Pau Gasol had 22 points and 12 rebounds in his return to the starting lineup and Kobe Bryant added had 17 points, 12 boards and eight assists as Los Angeles topped the hosts.
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