Lowry triple-double gets it done
Raps NBA-best 10-1 at home, Wright returns from injury, Carroll sits out ACC return
The drama — such that it was — was packed into a 90-second stretch to start the fourth quarter of another otherwise uneventful night between one good NBA team and one that aspires to be.
Madly chasing the 11th triple-double of his career, Kyle Lowry began the fourth quarter on the court rather than the Toronto Raptors bench, his team comfortably drubbing the Brooklyn Nets and Lowry one rebound short of the statistical milestone.
With visions of him rolling an ankle — chasing a meaningless rebound in a game that was over — running through more than a few minds, Lowry finally grabbed a missed shot as his teammates celebrated and committed an intentional foul right away, so his night could end.
His line: 10 points, 12 assists and the coveted 10 rebounds as the Raptors routed the Nets 120-87 before the typical sellout crowd at the Air Canada Centre.
It was Lowry’s ninth triple-double as a Raptor — he is by far the franchise leader — and the most notable occurrence on a night when Toronto took control from the start, overcame one second-quarter blip and went to 10-1 on the season at home.
DeMar DeRozan finished with 31 points to lead the Raptors, who have now won eight of their last nine games.
Serge Ibaka continued his surging play with 18 points, while Jonas Valanciunas finished with 14.
The game also marked the return of point guard Delon Wright, playing for the first time since injuring his shoulder in mid-December. But the Raptors still weren’t at full strength as forward C.J. Miles was a late scratch with a sore left shoulder.
The Raptors didn’t have to worry about facing ex-teammate DeMarre Carroll since he got the night off for rest, after playing Thursday and with Brooklyn playing again Sunday.
Carroll’s years with the Raptors were two of the most successful in franchise history, but he was mildly critical of the team’s style of play in interviews after he was dealt — along with 2018 first- and second-round round draft picks — to Brooklyn for a second-rounder and the Toronto’s right to waive Justin Hamilton.
The Raptors weren’t bothered by Carroll’s departing words.
“I’m not going to get into what DeMarre thought, what he said,” Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. “I know our offence was in the top five last year. He can be critical all he wants, that’s his opinion. We’ve established a style of play. I know our style of play is the way we have to play. Whether he could fit or not, I’m not going to get into that.”
Carroll was a bit more contrite on his return than he was on the way out of town, blaming his lack of produc- tion primarily on health issues having played about half the regularseason games over two years.
“When DeMarre’s healthy, DeMarre plays DeMarre basketball, that was simple,” he said. “But at the end of the day, I wasn’t all the way healthy. You can’t look at that as excuses. I didn’t play like I needed to play here in Toronto.
“You’ve got to try to move on and grow from that. That’s what I did — tried to move on and grow. I didn’t perform like I needed to here, and sometimes you’ve got to look yourself in the mirror and say, ‘You didn’t do what you were supposed to.’ And I’m OK with that.”