In a closely fought match-up in Canada, the Toronto Raptors protected their home court beating the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers, 103-99 on Wednesday (Thursday in Australia).

The backcourt of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan led the way for the Raptors, who improved to 4-1 at home this season with the win over the Cavaliers. Lowry top-scored with 27 points on an efficient 11-of-17 shooting and added 6 assists and 4 steals while DeRozan finished with 20 points and 4 assists.

All five starters for Toronto ended up in double-figure scoring with Luis Scola (15 points), DeMarre Carroll (12 points) and Bismack Biyombo (11 points and 12 rebounds) all contributing in the win.

The Cavaliers, who had a three-game winning streak snapped, were led by LeBron James’ 24 points but the Cavs star made just 6-of-16 shots from the field. Kevin Love posted a double-double of 21 points and 13 rebounds.

The Raptors pulled away in the last half of the final quarter turning an 84-82 deficit to a 91-84 lead after a Lowry three-pointer with over five minutes to go. The Raptors held on to the lead and has now won three in a row after a three-game losing streak on the road last week.

The Raptors outscored the Cavaliers in the paint, 52-28 and shot over 50 per cent (40-of-79 field goals) for the game.

The Cavaliers will try to return to the win column with another road game in their next outing against the Charlotte Hornets on Friday. The Raptors aim for a fourth straight win traveling to take on the Washington Wizards on Saturday.

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