Raptors down Cavaliers, 103-99

TORONTO — Kyle Lowry scored 27 points and DeMar DeRozan added 20 as the Toronto Raptors beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 103-99 on Wednesday night for their third straight victory.

LeBron James had 24 points, eight assists and six rebounds for the Cavaliers (11-4), who lost their third straight road game. Kevin Love added 21 points and 13 rebounds.

It was a tight contest for much of the night, as the lead changed hands 16 times. It was tied seven times.

The Raptors went up for good with 7:45 to go in the fourth.

After missing their first five shots of the fourth quarter, the Raptors scored nine straight points over a two-minute span to open a 91-84 lead with 5:38 to go.

Patrick Patterson and Lowry book-ended the run by hitting 3-pointers to the delight of a sellout crowd of 19,800 at Air Canada Centre.

James hit a pair of free throws with 2:52 to go to cut the Toronto lead to five, but the Raptors then went on a 7-2 run, including a pair of huge buckets by Bismack Biyombo to close it out.

Biyombo, taking the place of an injured Jonas Valanciunas, scored six points over the final 2:29.

The Raptors took an 82-80 lead into the fourth. It appeared that lead would be five when Lowry's layup capped his 14-point third quarter, but Cleveland's Mo Williams hit a shot from halfcourt at the buzzer.

The game was deadlocked at 49 at halftime as the teams combined for eight lead changes, with the Raptors up by as many as 10 points and the Cavaliers stretching their biggest lead to seven points.

The teams were tied at 25 after one quarter as Luis Scola shot 7 for 9 to lead all scorers with 15 points.

TIP-INS

Cavaliers: The Cavaliers, who are a perfect 8-0 at home, are now 3-4 away from Cleveland. .The Cavaliers went 14 for 29 from 3-point range and have made at least 11 from beyond the arc in seven of their last eight games. ... Williams returned after missing two games with a right ankle injury, scoring 15 points 31 minutes.

Raptors: It was the Raptors' third annual Drake Night in honor of the Toronto rapper, who is also the team's Global Brand Ambassador. The Raptors wore black and gold jerseys inspired by his OVO record label. .Tristan Thompson and Raptors' guard Cory Joseph both grew up in the Toronto area and were teammates at Findlay Prep in Las Vegas and then the University of Texas.

UP NEXT

Cavaliers: Visit Charlotte on Friday.

Raptors: Visit Washington on Saturday.