Trouble brings out their best.

DeMar DeRozan scored 40 points – doing that back-to-back for the first time in his career – and the Raptors clamped down defensively in the final three quarters to beat the Miami Heat 101-84 in the NBA on Thursday night.

Toronto has now won 19 games this season after trailing by at least 10 points, more than any team in the NBA.

”It talks about toughness, heart,” Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. ”Our give-a-crap level is pretty high, and it’s one of those things where when you count us out, we find a way. My thing is just find five men who are going to play hard.”

Playing with 13 stitches in his right hand and some padding and bandages to protect the injury, Hassan Whiteside had 16 points and 14 rebounds for Miami. Whiteside seemed a bit limited – his first two shots were rather gentle dunks, not his usual make-the-backboard-shake variety.

His injury situation even got worse: Whiteside sprained his left ankle late in the game.

”Very inspiring, just to see him out there battling,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

Even with one good hand at the start and one good ankle at the finish, Whiteside was one of Miami’s lone offensive bright spots. Rodney McGruder and Goran Dragic each scored 13 for Miami, which shot 39 percent and tied its second-lowest scoring total of the season.

”No one’s going to feel sorry for me,” said Whiteside, who had a bag over his cut hand, two icepacks on his knees and a wrap on his newly injured ankle as he sat at his locker postgame.

DeRozan needed 38 shots to score 42 points against Chicago on Tuesday. He was much more effective in this one, shooting 14 for 25 from the field and 12 for 13 from the line.

”I was just trying to be aggressive and try to pick it up on the defensive end as well, not just trying to go up there scoring,” DeRozan said. ”We slowly started getting into it and started playing like we wanted to play.”

Neither team moved in the Eastern Conference playoff standings. Toronto (43-29) remained in the No. 4 spot, pulling within a half-game of No. 3 Washington. Miami (35-37) stayed No. 8, now just a game ahead of No. 9 Chicago and No. 10 Detroit.

DeRozan became the second player in Toronto history to have a season where he scored 32 or more points at least 20 times. He was an 11-year-old when it last happened – Vince Carter had 28 of those games in 2000-01. It was also DeRozan’s sixth 40-point game this season, extending his Toronto single-season mark.

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The Raptors opened a mini-break on Boston after the Celtics lost at home against Detroit.

Elsewhere, the Los Angeles Lakers had a gritty win at Chicago, while Portland had a convincing win against Indiana.

Toronto’s Kyle Lowry had 29 points and DeMar DeRozan scored 24 for the Raptors, who have won six of their past seven meetings with the Grizzlies.

Andrew Harrison had 21 points for the injury-riddled Grizzlies, who were missing six regulars and could not continue its six-game road winning streak. Among the absent is star Mike Conley, who was ruled out for at least six weeks Tuesday with fractured vertebrae in his lower back.

Detroit’s Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 25 points and Tobias Harris had 21 to lead a balanced scoring effort that carried the Pistons over Boston 121-114.

Isaiah Thomas paced the Celtics with 27 points.

The Pistons lost eight of their first nine road games this season but have now won away from home on consecutive nights.

Los Angeles’ Julius Randle made a strong move against Nikola Mirotic for a tiebreaking layup with 45.1 seconds left, and the Lakers held off Chicago for a 96-90 victory.

Randle had 13 points and matched a career high with 20 rebounds while Lou Williams and Jordan Clarkson scored 18 points apiece for the Lakers.

Randle’s drive and layup gave Los Angeles a 92-90 lead. After Jimmy Butler missed on the other side for Chicago, Williams went 1 for 2 at the line with 20 seconds to go.

Portland’s Damian Lillard had 28 points and 10 assists to help the Trail Blazers beat Indiana 131-109 and get the better of former coach Nate McMillan.

Maurice Harkless added 23 points for the Blazers, who led by as many as 28 in their fifth consecutive victory over the Pacers.

Jeff Teague’s 25 points led Indiana, which began a five-game road trip in the absence of Paul George, who was again missing with a lingering ankle injury.

Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook scored 14 of his 35 points in overtime and posted his fourth consecutive triple-double to help the Thunder defeat Washington 126-115.

Westbrook added 14 rebounds and 11 assists for his ninth triple-double this season and the 46th of his career. The Thunder have won all four games during his triple-double streak, and he heads into December averaging a triple-double through 20 games this season.

Former Thunder coach Scott Brooks returned as Washington’s coach, and the crowd greeted him warmly.

Bradley Beal scored 31 points for the Wizards.

San Antonio’s Patty Mills scored 15 of his team-high 23 points in the fourth quarter to steer the Spurs to a 94-87 win against struggling state rival Dallas.

Phoenix’s Brandon Knight scored 23 points off the bench as the Suns reserves combined for 54 to allow them to hold off slumping Atlanta and win 109-107.

New York’s Kristaps Porzingis had 29 points in a thrilling duel with Karl-Anthony Towns, helping the Knicks win 106-104 at Minnesota.

Miami’s Hassan Whiteside had another big game with 25 points and 16 rebounds, leading the Heat over Denver 106-98.

A scheduled game between Sacramento and Philadelphia was postponed by the NBA because of condensation on the court at the Wells Fargo Center caused by the ice hockey surface beneath the court.

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Cleveland At Toronto
When: 6:00 PM ET, Sunday, March 10, 2013
Where: Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario
TV: 6 p.m. ET, Fox Sports Ohio (Cleveland), SNET1 (Toronto)
PREDICTION: Raptors 100, Cavaliers 97

Oddsmakers currently have the Raptors listed as 6-point favorites versus the Cavaliers, while the game’s total is sitting at 203.

Cleveland has one of the top, young backcourt duos in the league with point guard Kyrie Irving (23.2 points, 5.7 assists) and rookie shooting guard Dion Waiters, who are the team’s top two scorers. Irving has topped 20 points in three straight games and has 32 games of 20 or more points this season. Waiters leads all Eastern Conference rookies in scoring (14.6 per game), assists (3.2 per game) and steals (1 per game). Forward Tristan Thompson (11.4 points, 9.3 rebounds) teams with that duo to give the Cavs three promising players age 21 or younger.

Cleveland was a 103-92 loser in its last match at home against the Grizzlies. They failed to cover the 4.5-point spread as underdogs, while the total score of 195 sent OVER bettors to the payout window.

Cleveland:
Team record: 21-41 SU, 32-30 ATS

The total has gone UNDER in 5 of last 5 games when playing on the road against Toronto
The total has gone OVER in 5 of last 6 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of last 6 games when playing Toronto
The total has gone OVER in 6 of last 9 games

When playing on Sunday are 6-4
Before playing Washington are 5-5
After playing Memphis are 2-8
After a loss are 6-4

Toronto has a new star in Rudy Gay, who has put up 19.6 points and 6.5 rebounds per game in 16 contests since being acquired from Memphis. Gay teams with DeMar DeRozan (17.8 points) to form a dynamic scoring duo, and Kyle Lowry (12.6 points, 6.1 assists) is settling into his role as a distributor. Forward Andrea Bargnani (12.7 points) is back on the mend after leaving Friday’s game against the Lakers with a strained right elbow. Bargnani, who missed 26 games earlier this season with a torn right elbow ligament and strained right wrist, is listed as day-to-day.

Last time out for Toronto, they were a 118-116 loser as they battled the Lakers on the road. The Raptors covered in the match as a 7.5-point underdog, while 234 combined points moved the game OVER for totals bettors.

Toronto:
Team record: 24-39 SU, 32-30-1 ATS

The total has gone UNDER in 5 of last 5 games when playing at home against Cleveland
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of last 6 games when playing Cleveland
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of last 6 games at home
is 8-16 SU in its last 24 games when playing Cleveland

When playing on Sunday are 3-7
Before playing Boston are 4-6
After playing LA Lakers are 2-8
After a loss are 4-6

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