fter Henderson was fouled and made one of two free throws with 9 seconds remaining, the Bobcats' defense turned away shots from up close by Fournier and Mozgov to help the Bobcats hang on."It was a weird play at the end,Air Jordan 11 Black Red," Jefferson said. "The rebound (off Fournier's miss) got deflected in some kind of way. Mozgov got the ball and had a clean shot at a layup, but MKG (Kidd-Gilchrist) made a heck of a job to block it."Added Henderson: "Those are plays that win games."Leading by as many as 14 points early on, the Bobcats settled for a 53-52 halftime lead as the Nuggets outscored Charlotte 31-21 in the second quarter.Jefferson converted a three-point play to give Charlotte a 43-31 advantage with 5:47 remaining in the second, but Denver closed the period on a 21-10 run capped by Arthur's 20-jumper an instant before the first-half buzzer.Game notesThe Bobcats' Ben Gordon missed the game because of illness. ... The Nuggets and Bobcats meet one more time this season on March 10 in Charlotte. ... Kemba Walker missed his fifth game for the Bobcats since spraining his left ankle Jan. 18 against Miami. The Bobcats are 3-2 in that span. ... Jefferson also scored 35 points against the New York Knicks on Jan. 14. ... Foye's previous high this season was 24 points on Jan. 9 against Oklahoma City.Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press
Lowry scores 33 as Raptors beat Magic98-83Recommend0Tweet0Associated PressTORONTO -- With his second straight 30-point performance, Kyle Lowry made a final case for his All-Star credentials.Now he'll wait and see whether it's enough to take him to New Orleans.Lowry scored a season-high 33 points and dished out 11 assists, Amir Johnson had 22 points and 11 rebounds and the Toronto Raptors beat Orlando 98-83 on Wednesday night, their fifth straight victory over the Magic.Lowry will find out Thursday whether his strong play has been good enough to earn him his first All-Star nod. NBA coaches turned in their votes Tuesday, and the reserves will be announced in a televised special before the Knicks host Cleveland."I keep my fingers crossed that the coaches voted him in because he deserves it," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. "Right now he's one of the best point guards in the league."For his part, Lowry said he's not holding his breath about a debut All-Star appearance."I would be very honored,Lebron 10 MVP, it would be a great accomplishment,Air Jordan 11 Rainbow Box White Black," he said.Lowry, who had seven rebounds, matched his season best with six 3-pointers. He came within three points of matching his career-high of 36,Jordan 13 Black White Yellow, set Feb. 16, 2011, against Philadelphia, when he played for Houston."Kyle is an unbelievable player," Raptors guard Greivis Vasquez said. "He's doing great things."Vasquez may share a locker room with Lowry, but said he'd consider him an All-Star no matter what jersey he wore."He should make it, that's all I can tell you," Vasquez said. "It's not because I'm his teammate. The numbers don't lie."Lowry also topped 30 points in back-to-back games for the first time. He had 31 in Monday's 104-103 win at Brooklyn."He looked like an All-Star tonight," Orlando's Tobias Harris said. "He just picked us apart in the pick and roll."Jonas Valanciunas had 14 points and 15 rebounds and Terrence Ross scored 12 as the Raptors, who never trailed, won for the fourth time in five games.At least one Raptors player has scored 30 or more in each of the past five games. DeMar DeRozan had a career-high 40 in a Jan. 22 win over Dallas and 34 in a Jan. 24 win at Philadelphia while Ross scored a career-high 51 in last Saturday's loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.Nikola Vucevic returned from a 12-game absence following a concussion with 16 points and 10 rebounds and Jameer Nelson scored 13 as the slumping Magic lost their third straight overall and their 10th straight on the road. Orlando is an NBA-worst 3-21 away from home and has not won on the road since an 83-82 victory at Chicago on Dec. 16.Orlando coach Jacque Vaughn said he was pleased with the way Vucevic performed in his 21 minutes."It looked like his wind was pretty good," Vaughn said. "He looked ve