Kyle Lowry scores 25 points to lead Raptors to 96-86 win over Hawks

TORONTO – Kyle Lowry scored seven of his 25 points in the game’s final minute to lift the Toronto Raptors to a 96-86 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday.

DeMar DeRozan added 21 points, while Jonas Valanciunas finished with 13 points and 13 rebounds, and Greivis Vasquez chipped in with 12 for the Raptors (39-30).

DeMarre Carroll and Paul Millsap scored 17 points apiece to top the Hawks (31-37), while Jeff Teague added 16.

Coming off a an energetic 119-118 loss in double overtime two nights earlier to Oklahoma City, the Atlantic Division-leading Raptors looked like a different team Sunday in a game of sloppy passes, horrible shooting and lackadaisical defence.

One highlight on an afternoon that had almost none: the return of The Raptor mascot, who missed over five months after rupturing an Achilles tendon during training camp.

The Hawks, who are clinging to the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, led by as many as 14 points in the first half and were up by 71-60 heading into the fourth quarter.

Finally showing some life, the Raptors chipped away at the difference and when Johnson tipped in his own miss with 5:18 left to play, it tied the game 79-79.

Lowry scored on a hook shot with 44 seconds left to give the Raptors a five-point lead and some precious breathing room, then he stole the ball off an inbounds pass five seconds later to help put the game away.

The Raptors had lost to the Hawks earlier in the week, 118-113 in overtime in Atlanta on Tuesday.

Toronto got off to a poor start Sunday, turning over the ball seven times in the opening quarter. The Raptors shot just 28 per cent while allowing the Hawks to shoot 56 per cent.

Atlanta went up by 11 before leading 25-16 to end the quarter. A three-pointer by Millsap gave the Hawks a 14-point lead midway through the second.

But the Raptors closed the quarter with a 16-9 run that included a monstrous dunk by Terrence Ross and went into the locker-room at halftime trailing 49-42.

The Raptors carried that momentum into the third, cutting the Hawks’ lead to two points on a hook shot by Valanciunas, but abruptly went cold again. Atlanta took an 11-point advantage into the final 12 minutes.

Notes: The Raptors are in Cleveland to face the Cavaliers on Tuesday, then meet the Celtics in Boston on Wednesday before returning home to host Boston on Friday. … New Toronto FC goalkeeper Julio Cesar and Hockey Hall of Famer Darryl Sittler were at the game.