DeMar DeRozan scored 21 points to help the Toronto Raptors rout the Orlando Magic 123-88 Saturday night.
''We've had a lot of bad luck early in the season with injuries and close games so it's desperation time every time we step on the court,'' The Associated Press quoted DeRozan as saying. ''When we make the game fun, everybody's confidence gets high and it feels like we can't be stopped.''
For the Raptors, Ed Davis added chipped in 18 rebounds, Jose Calderon had 15 points and 10 assists, while Kyle Lowry and Terrence Ross scored 16 points apiece.
''We don't have any Kobes or LeBrons who just go out and win games for us, we've got to do it as a team,'' Calderon said. ''When we do that, we're pretty good.''
The Raptors started off well and outshined the Magic by scoring 36 points in the first quarter against the opponents' mere 21.
For the Magic, the top scorer Andrew Nicholson added 22 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Arron Afflalo had 14 points and six assists and Ish Smith finished with 13 points and six assists.
''We were under-manned in the sense that guys had to play different roles in different minutes,'' Magic coach Jacque Vaughn said. ''Toronto made some shots early, which put us on our heels. We were trying to figure out whether it was change in personnel, change in coverage and they just had the ability to make shots. It was one of those nights.''
Toronto out-rebounded Orlando 44-36. The Raptors had 46 out of 82 attempts from the field, while the Magic had only 36 of 82.
''We weren't trying to run up the score, but our guys were making shots,'' Toronto coach Dwane Casey said. ''We had 33 assists which meant we were moving the basketball around. We were playing the game the right way.''
The Thunder offense had their season's best performance in the first half as they scored 67 points in that period and stopped the opponents at 47.
The Raptors hit six shots from the three-point arc to outscore the Magic 31-26 in the second quarter.
The Magic fought back in the third quarter. Nicholson outplayed Davis and hit two free throws in the period with 5:16 remaining. The Magic reduced the gap to 76-65, but after that the Raptors again surged as Alan Anderson had a layup. Toronto had an 11-6 run to end the third quarter with an 87-71 lead.
The fourth quarter was a completely one-sided game. John Lucas and Quincy Acy hit a 3-pointer and a dunk respectively in the last three minutes of the period to help the Raptors outshine the Magic 36-17 and win the game by 35 points.
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