体坛英语新闻：Raptors rally over Hawks to snap home losing streak

TORONTO, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Toronto Raptors scored 36 points in the fourth quarter in a 96-86 victory over Atlanta Hawks to snap their two-game losing streak at home in a Sunday afternoon NBA game.

Down 71-60 after three quarters, Toronto shook off their earlier struggles to outscore Atlanta 36-15 in the final frame.

Raptors head coach Dwane Casey was concerned with his team's early-game struggles.

"For whatever reason, we got to get energy with our team," said Casey following the win. "We got energy in the building and got to get ourselves going. We can't start games like that."

Late quarter comebacks are familiar for Casey's squad, as they trailed in 36 out of 71 games played this season. Today's victory was the team's 10th one when trailing after three quarters.

"We have a good team and a group of guys who are very resilient," said Raptors guard Kyle Lowry, who had a game-high 25 points. "When you've found the recipe to win in the fourth, you have to stick with it."

Despite the team's success when trailing after three quarters, their record when leading is more impressive. Toronto holds a record of 28-2 when leading at the beginning of the fourth quarter.

With the victory, Toronto also improves their home record to 21-14 in games played at the Air Canada Centre.

Since Jan. 1, Raptors are tied with Clippers for most home wins with 16. They trail Pacers only and Nets who have 17 each.

During the same period, Toronto has only managed consecutive losses at home once. They lost March 16 against Phoenix and March 21 against Oklahoma City.

Earlier in the season, the team had a two-game losing streak between Nov. 15 and Nov. 17 and a four-game losing streak from Nov. 26 to Nov. 10.

"We got to take advantage of those fans. They are our sixth man," said Raptors forward DeMar DeRozan. "They get us going and give us the confidence to win."

With 13 games remaining on the season, DeRozan and the Raptors have six home games left take advantage of the fans' energy.