TORONTO -- DeMar DeRozan had 25 points as the Toronto Raptors rode a late fourth-quarter surge in a 106-90 win over the lowly Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night.
The win increased the Raptors' hold on first place in the Eastern Conference to two games over the idle Boston Celtics.
All-star point guard Kyle Lowry was limited offensively, scoring four but adding seven assists and two rebounds for Toronto (46-17). Jonas Valanciunas had 15 points and seven rebounds as the Raptors won their fifth straight.
Kent Basemore led Atlanta (20-45) with 14 points. John Collins added 14, while Dewayne Dedmon had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. The Hawks were tied for the third-worst record in the NBA heading into the game.
It was an ugly first half, filled with airballs, turnovers and players falling over each other in an attempt to get loose balls.
Toronto's Delon Wright sank a jump shot with 42.7 seconds left in the first quarter to cut Atlanta's advantage to 28-27. Pascal Siakam dunked on the first possession of the second quarter for the Raptors' first lead of the game.
Taurean Prince made back-to-back three-pointers near the midway point of the second to re-establish the Hawks' lead 41-38.
Norman Powell made a three-pointer with two minutes left in the half to tie it 47-47, followed by a 25-foot three from DeRozan to make it 50-47 with 34.5 seconds left before intermission.
Mike Muscala made a quarter of free throws -- two on technical fouls charged to DeRozan and Lowry -- to give Atlanta a 51-50 lead at half.
In the first two quarters the Raptors shot 35.4 per cent from field goal range and 33.3 per cent from beyond the arc. The Hawks were better, with 47.4 per cent field goal shooting and 45.5 per cent from three. Atlanta had 11 turnovers to Toronto's seven.
The Raptors opened the third quarter with a 7-0 run in the first minute of play.
Despite that quick start, the ugly play continued for both teams with more turnovers. Toronto missed all seven of its three-point attempts in the third, while Atlanta went 1 for 8 from beyond the arc.
Lowry earned a flagrant foul when he wrapped his arm around John Collins's waist as the Hawks forward leapt for a breakaway dunk on a turnover. Collins landed on his feet but went down hard on the play.
A three-pointer with Dedmon gave Atlanta a 77-76 lead heading into the fourth.
Fred VanVleet made two free throws to tie the game 79-79 to start the final quarter, then Jakob Poeltl sank a hook shot for a new Toronto lead.
The Raptors kept building on that momentum, with C.J. Miles bringing the sold-out crowd of 19,800 at Air Canada Centre to their feet with a three-pointer to make it 86-81 with 7:54 left to play.
Miles nailed another three-pointer with 5:49 left to play, flexing on the Raptors logo at halfcourt with the score 93-85. That score wouldn't change for nearly two minutes as both teams struggled to corral the ball. Eventually, Wright made a two-point layup with 4:14 left.
Poeltl followed that up with a dunk and then he intercepted a pass, eventually leading to him tipping in the ball for a 99-85 lead with 3:57 remaining.
DeRozan made three straight free throws before yet another Hawks turnover set up a Miles jump shot.
Jaylen Morris finally broke up the Raptors' 14-0 run with a jumpshot to make it 104-87 with 1:47 left to play. A free throw by Miles Plumlee, followed by two free throws by Powell and a put-back layup by Dedmon led to the final score.
