Toronto Raptors Kyle Lowry (7), Greivis Vasquez (21) and Jonas Valanciunas walk down the court during the dying seconds of their loss to the New Orleans Pelicans in NBA action in Toronto Sunday, January 18, 2015.Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press
DeMar DeRozan scored 22 points in a losing effort for Toronto on Sunday, as the Raptors dropped a 95-93 decision to the New Orleans Pelicans.
The Raptors ended their six-game homestand 2-4, and have lost seven of their last 10 games.
Tyreke Evans scored 26 points, while Akexis Ajinca finished with 22 for the Pelicans (20-20), who were playing without starters Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday.
Lou Williams added 17 points for the Raptors (26-14), who suffered back-to-back home losses for the first time since last March. Greivis Vasquez finished with 16 points, Amir Johnson had 14 points and 10 rebounds and Patrick Patterson added 10 points.
The Raptors were looking forward to be home after a disappointing six-game road trip out west, but they'd won just two of five games heading into Sunday, and Friday's 110-89 rout by the Atlanta Hawks prompted a players-only meeting.
Coach Dwane Casey wasn't demanding much from his players. The gameplan for Sunday was pretty straightforward.
"It's simple, play hard, there's nothing new, no new schemes. . . it's play hard," Casey said pre-game. "So if they get intimidated by that, we're in trouble. That's as simple as we can play right now."
The Raptors got off to their worst start of the season, however, with season lows for both the first quarter – 14 points – and first half – 36 points.
With Vasquez starting the third quarter in place of a scoreless Terrence Ross, the Raptors finally showed some life, outscoring the Pelicans 35-14 in the frame and taking a 71-65 lead into the fourth.
The Pelicans, who were missing Davis to a sprained toe and Holiday to a sore right ankle, pulled to within five points early in the fourth, but a mini run capped by three free throws by Williams gave the Raptors an 85-73 lead with 6:39 to play.
The Pelicans replied with their own run and a basket by Ajinca followed up by a dunk from Omer Asik put the visitors up by two points with just under two minutes to play. DeRozan's two free throws tied the game with 43 seconds to play.
Evans dribbled down the shot clock and scored with 1.6 seconds remaining, to the dismay of the Air Canada Centre crowd, then DeRozan missed on a last-ditch shot at the final buzzer to send the Raptors into Monday's game at Milwaukee having lost two in a row.
The slumping Ross, meanwhile, sat at the end of the Raptors' bench for the entire second half, his final play of the game an airball on a three-point attempt he chucked up to end the first half.
The Raptors staggered out to their lowest-scoring first quarter of the season, shooting just 26 per cent from the field and 1-for-8 from three point range. They didn't reach double digits until more than eight minutes into the game, and trailed 21-14 heading into the second quarter.
The misery continued into the second. Evans scored 13 points to lead the way for the Pelicans, who outscored Toronto 29-22 in the quarter and took a 50-36 advantage into halftime.