Boston Celtics trade rumors 2016: David Lee heading to Raptors if shipped?

But the Raptors managed to find that killer instinct just fine on Friday night, though, manhandling the short-handed Miami Heat 101-81 before a sellout crowd of 19,800 at the Air Canada Centre. Stevens noted before Wednesday’s game how Thomas’ fourth-quarter exploits strengthened his case for an All-Star bid. He landed on top of the woman, who was sitting in the first row and didnt appear to be hurt.

Lowry then gave her a kiss, and she smiled as he returned to the court.

The mindset that propelled DeMar DeRozan to a 34-point effort may not have been much of a mystery to his Toronto Raptors teammates, who see it regularly. Ross played 22 minutes and scored 13 points on 4-for-4 field goals, including 2-for-2 from beyond the arc and 3-for-4 from the free throw line.

DeRozan really got the crowd into the game late on in the first quarter, skillfully flipping the ball from one hand to the other as he floated underneath the basket before finger-rolling it off the glass and in, drawing the foul from Evan Turner in the process.

NOTES: Raptors G Kyle Lowry and Heat G Dwyane Wade were voted as Eastern Conference starters for the NBA All-Star Game…. It has rarely been blown out, but also hasn’t stomped on opponents. But when he was asked if Thomas was the best scoring point guard in Celtics history, he had an answer.

One of the hallmarks of Boston’s second-half surge last season was its ability to win close games.

The Celtics outscored Toronto 35-21 in the second quarter and took a 62-56 lead into halftime.

Their hard working attitude was contagious, and Avery Bradley caught on quickly. He added two rebounds and an assist and is averaging 11.4 points over his last five games.

The All-Star Game reserves, selected by the NBA’s 30 head coaches, will be announced on Thursday, January 28. Toronto would go on to win, 115-109. It was the third straight game that DeRozan scored 30 or more points and the second time in his career that he has accomplished that.

Toronto was 16 for 22 from the floor in the third, outscoring the Celtics 40-26 for a season-high in a single quarter.

The Raptors raced out to a 9-2 lead less than two minutes in and were up 31-20 after at the end of the first quarter. “Get him the ball and get out of the way”, point guard Kyle Lowry told reporters of DeRozan.

“You start to look at the game like it’s checkers, sort of”.

For Wade, who had sat out two of the last four games with shoulder soreness, and who had to test it in warmups before declaring himself ready to go, just getting into the game was a point of pride. (That’s my favourite expression of his.) Unfortunately for the Heat, there’s just not a whole lot of team left after that duo.