Toronto Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan (10) drives to the net past Philadelphia 76ers guard K.J. McDaniels (14) during the first half at the Air Canada Centre.John E. Sokolowski
When DeMar DeRozan scored on a spectacular 360 layup Sunday night, he couldn't help but smile.
DeRozan poured in 24 points on a veritable smorgasbord of shots to lead the Toronto Raptors to a 120-88 rout of the hapless Philadelphia 76ers, improving their Eastern Conference-leading record to 6-1.
Terrence Ross added 17 points, while Lou Williams finished with 16. Kyle Lowry had 14 points, while Greivis Vasquez chipped in with 13, and Jonas Valanciunas had 12 in Game 2 of Toronto's seven-game homestand.
Tony Wroten had 18 points to lead the woeful Sixers (0-7), the NBA's worst team. Chris Johnson finished with 16.
Toronto is a perfect 5-0 at home, and has the luxury of playing five more in a row at the Air Canada Centre.
The Raptors, who began the night a half game ahead of Washington and Chicago for first in the East, got off to a strong start for the second straight game, taking a 19-point lead in the opening quarter and never taking their foot off the gas.
Toronto led 88-63 with one quarter to play in what wasn't the most entertaining of games in front of an ACC crowd of 18,470 that included a bespectacled Drake.
Ross, in his second strong game, drained a three with five minutes to play to give the Raptors a 113-72 lead. The second unit played the final five minutes of mop-up time, but showed no mercy. And when James Johnson threw down a massive dunk with 2:32 to play, it put Toronto up by 41 and brought the fans, the players on the Raptors bench — and Drake — to their feet.
The fans ushered the team off the court with a standing ovation.
Philly, which is heading in the opposite direction of Toronto, has now lost 70 of their last 86 regular-season games.
The Raptors were coming off a 103-84 win over Washington that was punctuated by a strong start. But Raptors coach Dwane Casey expressed concern pre-game whether they could repeat it.
"If I could just bottle it I'd do it," Casey said. "But it's one of those things where we're getting into a real game rhythm. . . I was concerned and still we want to see the consistency of coming out of the gates like that."
As for their spot atop the East, Casey said he wasn't giving it a lot of thought.
"It's great for the fans. It's great for the players to see that, but it's not the most important thing right now," Casey said. "Our most important thing is developing a consistent personality."
DeRozan led the way with nine points in a sloppy first quarter for both teams. The Raptors shot 69 per cent in the frame and took a 33-20 lead into the second.
Valanciunas went to the rim untouched to stretch Toronto's lead to 47-28 with seven minutes to go in the half. The Raptors went into the dressing room at halftime up 60-45.
DeRozan's beautiful spin move in the third quarter put Toronto up by 23 points, then he scored on a putback layup with 4:28 remaining in the frame to give the Raptors a 27-point advantage. Williams drained a long two at the buzzer to send Toronto into the fourth quarter up by 25.
The Raptors host Orlando on Tuesday then Chicago on Thursday.
NOTES: The last time the Raptors were tied or alone atop the East was Nov. 12, 2004. They were tied with four other teams at 4-2. . . The Raptors swept the Sixers in their three meetings last season for the first time in franchise history.