TORONTO

Bargnani scores 31 as Raptors beat Cavaliers 92-77

The Canadian Press Published Wednesday, January 4, 2012 9:40PM EST

Toronto Raptors forward Amir Johnson (15) tries to rebound against Cleveland Cavaliers forward Antawn Jamison (left) and guard Anthony Parker (right) during first half NBA action in Toronto on Wednesday January 4, 2012. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

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TORONTO - Andrea Bargnani scored 31 points on 11-for-16 shooting and the Toronto Raptors won for the second game in a row, 92-77 over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday.

DeMar DeRozan added 25 points on 9-for-18 shooting for the Raptors while Jose Calderon had 11 assists to go with 13 points.

The Raptors took the lead late in the first quarter and held it the rest of the way for their second victory of the season over the Cavs.

Antawn Jamison led Cleveland with 19 points with Kyrie Irving adding 12 and Omri Casspi scoring 10. Anderson Varejao led all rebounders with 13.

Cleveland rookie forward Tristan Thompson of Brampton, Ont., scored one point in just under 17 minutes and was 0 for 5 from the field.

The Raptors took a 15-point lead into the fourth quarter but learned in their games earlier this season that a big lead was no guarantee of a win.

The Cavaliers scored the first five points of the fourth but Leandro Barbosa responded by hitting a 34-footer for three points that brought a gasp from the crowd.

DeRozan hit his fourth three-pointer of the game with 8:52 to play in the third quarter to put Toronto into a 10-point lead. Led by Bargnani's 11 third-quarter points, the Raptors opened up a 66-51 lead going into the final quarter.

The Raptors beat the Cavs 104-96 in the opening game of the season for both teams on Dec. 26 in Cleveland. But Cleveland (3-3) won three of their next four games before Wednesday's game as Toronto (3-3) lost three in a row before beating the New York Knicks 90-85 on Monday.

Bargnani scored eight points and DeRozan had seven as Toronto led 21-18 after the first quarter.

Toronto built the lead to nine points late in the second quarter but Cleveland cut it to four before DeRozan hit a three-pointer with the last shot of the half, a 28-foot, pull-up jumper, to make the half-time score 46-39.

DeRozan finished the first half with 15 points that included going 3 for 3 on three-pointers. Bargnani added 10 for Toronto while Jamison led all first-half scorers with 17 points for the Cavs.

Thompson, 20, entered the game with 1:09 left in the first quarter and received a round of applause. He left 26 tickets for friends and family and figured that he had a contingent of about 200 supporters cheering for him.

The Cavaliers took Thompson with the fourth pick overall in the first round in the 2011 draft. He is the highest picked Canadian in the modern history of the NBA draft.

Notes: Attendance was 14,468. ...The Raptors assigned centre Solomon Alabi to Bakersfield of the NBA Development League on Wednesday. ...Cleveland's 19-year-old rookie guard Irving was announced Wednesday as one of three Cavaliers placed on the ballot for voting for the NBA all-star game with veterans Jamison and Varejao. ... Calderon, Bargnani and DeRozan were the Toronto players put on the ballot. ...Forward Samardo Samuels was not with the Cavs because of problems with his visa and passport. ...Cleveland assigned forward Christian Eyenga to the NBA Development League.