NBA 2018-19: 3 Talking points from the San Antonio Spurs' 125-107 win against the Toronto Raptors
Three players met their former teams today in the highly touted Raptors - Spurs game at the AT&T Center. Danny Green, Kawhi Leonard and DeMar DeRozan all got a chance to connect with former acquaintances and teammates, while the San Antonio crowd was a mix of boos and cheers for most of the evening.
DeRozan got the better of his former team with a gaudy stat line and the win, while solid contributions from all the Spurs' starters and bench players came down to a torrid start in both halves in which San Antonio dominated Toronto in most aspects of gameplay on either side of the court.
San Antonio's players played with vicious energy and the team itself is on a current winning high, having won the majority of their past few games, with Aldridge and DeRozan in lockdown form.
#1 The revenge of DeRozan
In what must have felt like sweet vengeance to both the San Antonio Spurs and former Raptor DeMar DeRozan, the Spurs blew out the Toronto Raptors 125 - 107 at the AT&T Center today.
The Spurs raced out ahead on a 15-5 run, and seemed intent on crushing Leonard's new team as much as possible. Toronto, who had one shaky victory over the Bulls and one tremendously energizing victory over the Jazz - in which Leonard scored a career-high 45 points - evidently could not handle San Antonio's vicious play.
DeRozan started with a ferocious dunk and some statement-making plays as he collected 24 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists for his first ever triple-double in the NBA. In the first half alone, he had 19 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists, the quickest any Spur has compiled that sort of line since Tim Duncan in 2003.
Coach Pop used his magic on DeRozan and turned him from the elite midrange scorer he was to an all round utilities player and for one revenge game, DeRozan went berserk.