DeRozan continues torrid scoring pace in Lowry's absence

With Kyle Lowry out for the foreseeable future, the Toronto Raptors may need DeMar DeRozan to be the Eastern Conference's most valuable player over the final six weeks of the season to maintain a top-three seed.

So far, so good for the Compton native.

Only hours after the Raptors found out Lowry would undergo wrist surgery Tuesday morning, DeRozan helped Toronto erase a 17-point deficit at Madison Square Garden Monday night, pouring in 37 points on 13-of-25 shooting, including the game-winning fadeaway that left New York only 1.9 seconds to operate.

The outburst was nothing new for DeRozan, who added eight rebounds, two assists, and a steal against the Knicks. With Monday's result, the Raptors earn a sixth consecutive win against their Atlantic Division rival and fourth straight victory, overall.

Sans Lowry for the last three of those triumphs, DeRozan's 113 points - on 37-of-69 shooting - have accounted for more than 36 percent of Toronto's total offensive output.

Taking nothing away from DeRozan's recent shooting efficiency, which is remarkable for a high-usage scorer who operates inside the 3-point line, it's the swingman's ability to get to the free-throw line that remains the key to his offensive sustainability.

After attempting only 34 free-throws combined over the Raptors' final five games heading into the All-Star break - and failing to accumulate 10 free-throw attempts in any of those five contests - DeRozan has paraded to the charity stripe 41 times over the last three games, canning 37 of those attempts.

The three-time All-Star is now averaging 27.9 points per game on the season, good for fifth in the Association, and second to Isaiah Thomas in Eastern Conference scoring.

At 36-24, the Raptors sit in third place in the Eastern Conference, two games behind Thomas's second-place Celtics.