TORONTO -- Another hot night for DeMar DeRozan, another victory for the Toronto Raptors.
DeRozan, who led the league through his first four games with 36.3 points, scored 34 on Friday, lifting Toronto 96-87 over the Miami Heat.
According to Elias, the last player to start a season with five consecutive games with at least 30 points was Michael Jordan in 1986. Jordan's streak reached six games. Golden State's Stephen Curry and Portland's Damian Lillard were the only players last season to record five straight games with at least 30 points.
Terrence Ross finished with 20 in his best game of this young season, while Kyle Lowry had 13 and eight assists for the Raptors (4-1). Jonas Valanciunas grabbed 10 rebounds.
Hassan Whiteside had 21 to top the Heat (2-3), while Goran Dragic had 17 and Tyler Johnson finished with 16.
The Raptors led by double digits for much of what marked the first meeting between the two teams since Toronto dispatched Miami in last season's thrilling Eastern Conference semifinals.
But the Heat closed the third quarter with a furious 17-4 run, cutting the Raptors' advantage to 75-72 with one quarter left.
Miami kept the game close through the fourth until three straight baskets by DeRozan put the Raptors ahead by nine points with just under two minutes to play. He fed Valanciunas for a basket on the next play. Toronto was back up by double digits with 1:28 to play and pulled away down the stretch.
DeRozan looked destined for a relatively quiet night, with just 12 points in the first half, but the two-time all-star lit it up in the fourth quarter to help clinch the win.
DeRozan got a big assist from Ross, who made an immediate impact when he checked into the game late in the first quarter with his team trailing by 12.
Ross shot 8 for 15 from the field including one over-the-head circus shot where he had to turn and check whether the ball had dropped through the hoop. It had. And the capacity crowd at the Air Canada Centre crowd, which included four-time Olympic swimming medallist Penny Oleksiak, ate it up.
James Johnson, who played two seasons in Toronto before signing with Miami in the off-season, received a warm ovation when he checked into the game.
The Heat raced out to a 12-point lead, but with eight points from Ross, Toronto finished the frame on a 12-2 run to cut Miami's advantage to 27-25 heading into the second.
Ross led the way with eight points in the second quarter, and the Raptors went into the halftime break up 52-46.
A pair of DeRozan free throws put the Raptors in front by 16 points with four minutes left in the third quarter -- their biggest lead to that point.
The Raptors host Sacramento on Sunday, then hit the road for a game at Oklahoma City on Wednesday followed by Charlotte on Friday.
