Raptors top Nets Again and Other NBA Playoffs Results
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — The Toronto Raptors are up two games to none in their NBA first-round series against Brooklyn.
Fred Van Vleet contributed 24 points and 10 assists as the Raptors knocked off the Nets, 104-99. Norman Powell also had 24 points on 11 of 17 shooting off the bench.
Kyle Lowry had 21 points, grabbed nine rebounds and forced a big turnover in the closing seconds for the second seeded Raptors.
The Nets led by as many as 14 in the first quarter, and the Raptors didn’t go ahead until the three-minute mark of the fourth.
Garrett Temple led the Nets with 21 points.
In other NBA first-round action:
— Jayson Tatum pumped in 33 points and the Celtics beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 128-101 to take a 2-0 series lead. Tatum scored a career playoff high for the second straight game after scoring 32 points in the opener Monday. Kemba Walker added 22 points and Jaylen Brown had 20 for the Celtics, who shot 51% from the field and committed just two of their seven turnovers in the first three quarters. Joel Embiid had 34 points and 10 rebounds for the 76ers.
— The Jazz and Nuggets are tied at a game apiece after Donovan Mitchell scored 21 of his 30 points in a big third quarter that carried Utah past Denver, 124-105. Mitchell was 10 of 14 from the floor and helped the Jazz increase the lead to 31 in the fourth. His performance was on the heels of scoring a Jazz playoff-record 57 points in a 135-125 overtime loss in Game 1. Jordan Clarkson had a playoff career-high 26 points for the Jazz, who had 32 assists and hit 20 3-pointers.
— The Mavericks also knotted their series at one game all by getting a combined 51 points from Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis in a 127-114 win over the Clippers. Doncic had a team-high 28 points to go with eight rebounds and seven assists, while Porzingis chipped in 23 points and seven boards. The Clippers lost despite Kawhi Leonard’s 35 points and 10 rebounds.