TORONTO — DeMar DeRozan scored 33 points and Kyle Lowry made a couple key baskets late to finish with 29 points, helping the Toronto Raptors beat the Denver Nuggets 105-102 on Monday night.
Danilo Gallinari, Will Barton and Emmanuel Mudiay each had 16 points for Denver, and Jusuf Nurkic added 13 points and a career-high 18 rebounds.
DeRozan is the first Raptor ever to start a season with three straight 30-point games, and his run is one short of Mike James’ stretch from 2006 for the longest at any point in a season.
Lowry hit a tiebreaking 14-footer with 1:36 remaining, then made it 105-102 with 45 seconds remaining on a driving layup.
BULLS 118, NETS 88: Jimmy Butler scored 22 points, Dwyane Wade had 12 in the first road game of his career not played for Miami, and Chicago improved to 3-0 with a win at Brooklyn.
The Bulls had seven players in double figures, with Wade becoming the last of them when he left Bojan Bogdanovic behind with a crossover and was fouled on a drive to the basket in the fourth quarter.
Nikola Mirotic had 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Taj Gibson added 14 points and 11 boards for the Bulls.
After home victories against Eastern Conference playoff teams Boston and Indiana to open the season, the Bulls easily handled their road opener, leading by as many as 33 points.
HAWKS 106, KINGS 95: Dwight Howard had 18 points, and Kyle Korver and Dennis Schroder scored 17 points apiece as Atlanta won at home for its first 3-0 start in five seasons.
Every Atlanta starter scored in double figures, and the Hawks held Sacramento’s DeMarcus Cousins in check after he averaged 30 points in the Kings’ first three games. He finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
Rudy Gay scored 22 points for Sacramento (2-2), which led 81-79 after three quarters. Matt Barnes also scored 14 points and Ben McLemore finished with 12.
Howard went 8 for 20 from the line, but also contributed 11 rebounds and four blocked shots. Paul Millsap added 13 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.
Atlanta made 29 of its 47 free-throw attempts, and Sacramento Coach Dave Joeger pleaded to official Karl Lane at one point: “My man over here (the scorekeeper) is running out of lead! Ten fouls in one quarter?”
NOTES
HAWKS: Atlanta said backup forward Mike Scott will be out about four weeks because of a sore left knee. To deal with his absence, the team has requested waivers on Edy Tavares and signed forward Ryan Kelly, who was recently assigned to the Maine Red Claws by the Boston Celtics.
Kelly spent the last three years with the Los Angeles Lakers after being drafted in the second round out of Duke in 2013. He made 59 starts in 147 games, averaging 6.5 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.4 assists for the Lakers.
The 6-foot-10 Kelly appeared in six preseason games with the Hawks before being cut.
TIMBERWOLVES: A person with knowledge of the situation said Minnesota has agreed to terms with big man Gorgui Dieng on a four-year contract extension worth $64 million.
The sides came to agreement Monday afternoon. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team has not announced the deal.
In his fourth season, Dieng has emerged as a talented and versatile forward and center. He has been starting alongside Karl-Anthony Towns in a promising frontcourt.
Dieng is averaging 13.0 points and 13.5 rebounds in the first two games of the season.
• Ricky Rubio did not practice Monday because of a sprained right elbow and was scheduled to meet with a doctor later in the day to try to determine the extent of his injury.
Rubio was injured in the second half of Saturday night’s loss to Sacramento.
CAVALIERS: The NBA moved up the start time for Cleveland’s Tuesday night game because of the World Series.
The game against Houston at Quicken Loans Arena will now begin an hour earlier, at 6 p.m.
The NBA champions requested the change to avoid an extended overlap with Game 6 of the World Series, which starts at 8:08 p.m. at neighboring Progressive Field.
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