NBA teams
TOR

126

13-2
Final
ATL

115

7-6
RecapBox Score
1 2 3 4 T
TOR 34 30 27 35 126
ATL 24 37 27 27 115
State Farm Arena, Atlanta
Associated Press 9y

DeMar DeRozan's 27 points help Raptors roll to 6th straight win

NBA, Atlanta Hawks, Toronto Raptors

ATLANTA -- DeMar DeRozan loves when the Toronto Raptors have a balanced scoring attack.

"That's what it's going to take to win," he said. "Honestly, that's what it's all about."

DeRozan scored 27 points, Lou Williams added 22 and the Raptors beat the Atlanta Hawks 126-115 on Wednesday night for their sixth consecutive victory.

The Eastern Conference-leading Raptors had their highest point total of the season. They have won 11 of 12 to match the best stretch in the franchise's 20-year history, also accomplished from March 22-April 14, 2002.

Jeff Teague had 24 points and 12 assists for Atlanta, and Al Horford scored 23 points.

The Hawks, who won in Washington on Tuesday night, were trying to beat the East's top two teams on consecutive nights.

Kyle Lowry had 14 points and 13 assists for Toronto, which is 4-1 on the road for the first time in team history.

"I wanted to get my guys involved," Lowry said. "My shot wasn't falling the way I wanted it to, but the guys did a great job of screening and getting some great shots."

Hawks guard Kyle Korver hit a pair of free throws to cut Toronto's lead to 109-105 with 4:45 remaining, but the Raptors pulled away from there. James Johnson's fast-break dunk increased Toronto's advantage to 13 just 1:16 later.

Korver finished with 19 points.

Williams, playing his first game in his hometown since getting traded by the Hawks last summer, hit four 3-pointers and went 6 for 6 on free throws.

"Three nights in a row it's been somebody else stepping up," said Williams, who scored a career-high 36 last Saturday night as Toronto overcame an 18-point deficit to win at Cleveland. "It just shows the depth and the character of this team."

Raptors coach Dwane Casey was pleased to watch his team's defense guard the perimeter better in the second half.

Once Toronto had itself together defensively, the ball movement improved offensively as the Raptors took time to select better shots. It marked the second time in two wins over Atlanta this season that they had seven players score in double figures.

Reserve guard Greivis Vasquez was a major beneficiary, scoring all 21 of his points in the second half.

"It was great to see Greivis get going with his shooting," Casey said. "He has just needed to see the ball go through the hoop."

SPEAKING UP

Ten fans staged a peaceful protest of the Ferguson grand jury decision during the first half.

Seven men and three women marched briskly through upper and lower levels of Phillips Arena on Wednesday night and shouted "Hands up! Don't shoot!" for 10 approximately minutes.

The game was not disrupted during the march.

NICE START

DeRozan hit all five of his field-goal attempts to finish the first quarter with 14 points. Williams added seven.

TIP-INS

Raptors: Reserve big man Tyler Hansbrough missed his fourth straight game with a sprained right shoulder.

Hawks: Reserve swingman Thabo Sefolosha was sent home before the game with flu symptoms.

UP NEXT

Raptors: Host Dallas on Friday night.

Hawks: Host New Orleans on Friday night.

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