DeRozan rallies Raps after rough first half

Sometimes you don’t play season openers, you try to survive them, to put aside the jitters, ignore the adrenalin, get used to the pace of quicker game.

It’s just what the Raptors did in their season debut.

DeMar DeRozan had five of his 25 points in the final 70 seconds and Jonas Valanciunas hit a pair of crucial free throws with 38 second so go as the Raptors managed to subdue the Indiana Pacers 106-99 before an announced sellout crowd of 19,800 at the Air Canada Centre.

It was not pretty and there is much offensive work to do but the Raptors were able to hang on after starting the year with a shaky first half.

A 35-point third quarter — after they had scored just 37 in the entire first half — keyed the comeback as Toronto finally looked like a cohesive unit, especially on offence.

Kyle Lowry had10 of his 23 points in the third and DeRozan shook off a gruesome start to finish with 25 points.

Valanciunas, comfortable at both ends, had a double-double with 21points and15 rebounds and, most important, was a defensive factor down the stretch.

While the offence was at times abysmal, the Toronto defence was as advertised. DeMarre Carroll, despite a hard fall in the first quarter that sent him to the locker room wit an elbow bruise, gave Indiana all-star Paul George fits all night as the Pacers shot just 38 per cent from the floor. DeRozan was making his seventh straight opening night start for Toronto, tying him with Vince Carter for the most in franchise history.

With all of Lowry’s skill and Valanciunas’s promise and the intrigue of the four new players, DeRozan remains the de facto face of the franchise.

The 26-year-old, who will likely pass Chris Bosh for most starts ever by a Raptor this season, was the last player introduced, got the loudest cheers and was the guy who had to thank the fans for being fans. It’s his place in the franchise now. “It’s good for DeMar, he represents everything that the program stands for, it’s a tribute to him as a young man,” Toronto coach Dwane Casey said before the game began.

It was also the fourth straight opener featuring the trio of Lowry, DeRozan and Valanciunas, unusual continuity for the Raptors.

“It’s great, I’ve watched DeMar grow as a man, as a player; I’ve watched Kyle grow, we’re watching J.V. grow right in front of our eyes, so it’s always rewarding to see guys develop and grow like that,” Casey said.

Trouble was, for all the familiarity among the group, there was some grisly offence on display in the first half for the Raptors, who looked discombobulated from the start.

DeRozan missed his first six fieldgoal attempts, Lowry was 2-for-7 in the opening two quarters and only Valanciunas looked comfortable.

Casey had been telling all and sundry for days that the team’s offence was far behind its defence, and then they proved him correct, shooting just 37 per cent from the field and trailing by as many as 16 points before clawing back to be down just 45-37 at the break.

While the offence was atrocious at times, it was the improved defence that kept Toronto close. As advertised, Carroll was effective, harassing

“It’s great, I’ve watched DeMar grow as a man, as a player; I’ve watched Kyle grow, we’re watching J.V. grow right in front of our eyes, so it’s always rewarding to see guys develop and grow like that.” DWANE CASEY

George into a 1-for-8 first half as the Pacers shot just 37 per cent as well.

Luis Scola, who did not score but contributed eight rebounds in 17 minutes, started for the Raptors. He had earned the spot in the pre-season but Casey still saw a bit of sentimentality for the ex-Pacer.

“I don’t care how old you get, I really feel there’s something in guys where you get traded or you don’t get re-signed by another team, something’s a little extra,” Casey said. “I’ve always believed in that and seen that so many times over the years where guys have special games against a former team.”