TORONTO (AP) — Greivis Vasquez had 15 points, Lucas Nogueira scored six straight points in the final 2 minutes and the Toronto Raptors held off Israel’s Maccabi Haifa 92-85 on Wednesday night for their sixth victory in seven preseason games.
Kyle Lowry and Terrence Ross each had 11 points for the Raptors, whose sole exhibition defeat was a 113-106 loss at Sacramento on Oct. 7. James Johnson scored 10 points and Nogueira had eight in his preseason debut after sitting out the previous six games because of a sore left hamstring.
Jeff Allen scored 24 points and Demontez Stitt had 19 for Maccabi Haifa, which finished 0-4 in its tour against NBA opponents. Maccabi Haifa also lost to Washington, Portland and Sacramento.
Toronto led 72-61 to begin the fourth, but Maccabi Haifa tied it with an 11-0 run, then took the lead after Brody Angley was fouled on a 3-pointer and made all three from the line, putting the visitors up 75-72 with 8 minutes left.
The Raptors missed their first eight field goal attempts of the fourth before a dunk by rookie Bruno Caboclo at 6:08 cut it to 77-74.
Will Cherry restored Toronto’s lead with a 3 with 3 minutes to go, Ike Ofoegbu answered with a layup, but Nogueira scored the next six points on a dunk, a pair of free throws and a put-back to secure victory for Toronto.
Ross brought the crowd of 15,749 to its feet by converting a breakaway, 360-layup midway at 8:06 of the third, despite being fouled. Ross made his free throw to give the Raptors a 19-point lead, their biggest of the game at that point.
TIP INS
There was a moment of silence before the national anthems in honor of Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, the Canadian soldier shot dead while standing guard at the national war memorial Ottawa Wednesday morning. Extra security measures were also in place as fans entered the arena. … Toronto’s 26 turnovers were a preseason high, leading to 33 points for the Maccabi Haifa.
UP NEXT
Toronto concludes its exhibition schedule Friday night in Montreal against the New York Knicks. The Raptors begin the regular season at home against Atlanta on Oct. 29.
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