Jamal Crawford had season highs of 37 points and 11 assists as the Los Angeles Clippers overcame 51 points by Terrence Ross to beat the Toronto Raptors 126-118 in a shootout of NBA division leaders.
One night after Carmelo Anthony scored a franchise-record 62 points for the New York Knicks, Ross had an unexpected explosion of his own.
A second-year guard averaging 9.3 points per game, Ross made 16-of-29 shots - including 10 three-pointers - and 9-of-10 free throws as he tied Vince Carter's team record set on February 27, 2000.
Best known for winning last year's Slam Dunk Contest as a rookie, Ross joined scoring champions Anthony and Kevin Durant as the only players to eclipse 50 points in a game this season. He shattered his previous career high of 26 set last season.
However, the Clippers withstood the outburst and improved to 4-2 on their seven-game road trip.
Blake Griffin scored 30 points, including a pair of buckets that capped a 15-3 burst and gave the Clippers a 117-108 lead with 3:55 remaining.
In the final seconds, Ross made three free throws but missed his last foul shot, which would have broken the team mark.
Elsewhere, Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Philadelphia 76ers 103-91: After a night off to rest his achy shoulder, red-hot Kevin Durant returned with his fifth career triple-double of 32 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists to power the visiting Thunder to their seventh straight win.
Durant has scored at least 30 points in 10 straight games, matching LeBron James and Kobe Bryant for the longest streak in the last 10 years.
In other games, the host Denver Nuggets beat the Indiana Pacers 109-96, the Portland Trail Blazer defeated the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves 115-104, the host Memphis Grizzlies trounced the Houston Rockets 99-81, the visiting Chicago Bulls edged the Charlotte Bobcats 89-87; the host Utah Jazz defeated the Washington Wizards 104-101 and the visiting Atlanta Hawks routed the Milwaukee Bucks 112-87.
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