Jonas Valanciunas registered a career-high 27 points and added 11 rebounds while shooting 10 out of 11 from the field to help the Toronto Raptors storm past the Phoenix Suns, 104-100.

DeMar DeRozan added 23 points for the Raptors, who blew a 17-point lead in the fourth quarter. Lou Williams scored 17 markers off the bench for the Raptors, who shot 45 percent from the field. Williams is coming off a career-high 36 points and was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the first time in his career.

Kyle Lowry tallied 14 points, eight assists, and seven boards, while Terrence Ross contributed 13 points to help the cause for Toronto, who are now tied with the Memphis Grizzlies for the best record in the NBA. Toronto forced Phoenix to commit 20 turnovers, which led to 17 fast break points.

Eric Bledsoe paved the way for the Suns with 25 points, seven rebounds, six assists, two steals, and two blocks. Bledsoe unloaded 13 of his 25 points in the fourth to ignite a comeback for Phoenix and take a precarious one-point lead with 3:03 to play, but Toronto made a string of costless throws late in the game to solidify the victory.

Phoenix allowed 32 costless throw attempts to the Raptors, who converted 81.3 percent of their shots from the charity stripe. Markieff Morris added 17 points, while Isaiah Thomas scored 16 off the Suns bench. The Suns won the battle of the boards, 42-37, but were still unable to win.

Phoenix finishes with a 4-2 card on their six-game road trip. The Toronto Raptors improve to a 12-2 record, while the Phoenix Suns drop to 9-6.

The Raptors will look to continue their winning ways, as they head to Atlanta on Wednesday to battle the Hawks. Meanwhile, the Suns will try to bounce back from their latest setback, as they finally head back home to host Ty Lawson and the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday.

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About the author
John Carlo Villaruel
John Carlo Villaruel studies Journalism at University Of San Jose-Recoletos.