The Eastern Conference second leading team Toronto Raptors got the better of the East's top club Cleveland Cavaliers with a 99-97 victory at Air Canada Centre on Friday night.

With the win, the Raptors claimed their tenth straight home game victory to tie a franchise record previously set between March 24 and Nov. 4, 2002, and improved to 21-6 at Toronto this season. It was also the fourth straight win of the Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment-owned basketball club, who currently have a record of 39 wins and 18 losses.

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Kyle Lowry led the Raptors with a career-high 43 points and an assist short to finish the game with a double-double game performance. Lowry, who also had four steals in the game, went 15 for 20 from the field and connected 2-of-5 treys from beyond the arc in a game-high 42.49 minutes of playing time.

Terrence Ross contributed 15 points, while Lithuanian center Jonas Valanciunas and Congolese Bismack Biyombo added 11 points apiece for the Raptors.

DeMar DeRozan, who scored 31 points in their game against the Minnesota Timberwolves last week Wednesday, scored a season-low six points. The All-Star guard was reportedly battling flu-like symptoms during the game.

According to Paul Attfield on the official website of the NBA, "Lowry tied the score at 97-all with a hook shot with 51.9 seconds remaining". The Raptors got the ball possession following a miss shot by J.R. Smith with 28.9 ticks to go.

"Lowry took his time before making a pull-up jumper with 3.8 seconds left to put Toronto back in front," the report continued.

The Cavaliers called a timeout to regroup, but LeBron James, who led the Cavs with a team-high 25 points, missed a three-pointer as the time went up, sealing the victory for the host team.

Cleveland suffered their 16^th loss in 57 games played and went to 17-11 on road this season.

Tags Toronto Raptors, NBA, cleveland cavaliers