TORONTO -- DeMar DeRozan poured in 21 points, while Terrence Ross scored 14 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter, and the Toronto Raptors beat the depleted Memphis Grizzlies 96-92 on Wednesday.
Kyle Lowry added 18 points while Lou Williams finished with 13 and Jonas Valanciunas added 10 points for the Eastern Conference-leading Raptors (9-2).
Marc Gasol had 22 points and 12 rebounds for the Grizzlies, who were missing five players thanks to a vicious stomach virus that ripped through their roster. Zach Randolph added 18 points and a game-high 18 boards, who boast the best record in the NBA (10-2).
Vince Carter added seven points on a night that the Raptors honoured their former star.
Despite their depleted roster, the Grizzlies led by as many as 10 points, and took a 75-69 advantage into the fourth.
Ross, who had just two points on 1-for-7 shooting heading into the fourth, lit it up in the final 12 minutes, and his three-pointer with 3:38 left pulled the Raptors to within two points. Lowry then scored on a driving layup to tie the game 90-90 with 2:58 to play.
Lowry scored on a driving finger roll, then with 8.2 seconds left, having dribbled down the shot clock, Lowry pulled and drained a fadeaway jumper that had the capacity crowd of 19,800 at the Air Canada Centre roaring.
The Grizzlies were missing Courtney Lee, Tony Allen, Kosta Koufos, Jon Leuer and Beno Udrih. The five were treated for dehydration, and were on their way back to Memphis by gametime.
To fill out their roster, the Grizzlies signed guard Kalin Lucas and centre Hassan Whiteside from Iowa of the D-League.
Carter was honoured with a video tribute during a first-quarter timeout, and for the first time he departed Toronto, leaving fans angry in his wake, they stood and warmly applauded him Wednesday.
Carter was visibly moved by the gesture, wiping tears from his eyes. He touched a hand to his heart, and gave the fans several thumbs-up signs.
Raptors coach Dwane Casey had warned pre-game that the Raptors faced a physical challenge from Memphis similar to the Bulls, who beat up Toronto last week.
"They bang, they hit, they grab, they hold," Casey said of the Grizzlies. "They make it tough on the officials and their opponents, the way they play. We've got to fight through that.
"We want to play against them the way they're going to play against us."
The Grizzlies outrebounded Toronto 50-35. Gasol and Randolph were beasts inside, as the Grizzlies outscored Toronto 46-38 in the paint.
The Raptors raced out to a nine-point lead two-and-a-half minutes into the game on a Johnson hook shot, but Memphis rebounded with an 8-0 run to go up by three. A three-pointer by Greivis Vasquez gave the Raptors a 22-20 lead going into the second quarter.
Carter led the way with seven points in a second quarter that saw the Grizzlies outscore Toronto 28-20. Memphis went into the dressing room at halftime with a 48-42 lead.
The visitors stretched their lead to 10 points midway through the third, but six points from Williams were part of a quick 9-0 run that pulled Toronto to within a point. The Grizzlies pulled away once again and took a six-point lead into the fourth.
NOTES: James Johnson didn't play. The forward injured his ankle on Saturday when he stepped on a cameraman. . . Actor Lou Gossett Jr. had a courtside seat.
