The Toronto Raptors defeated the Detroit Pistons, 109-90, at Air Canada Centre on Wednesday.
The Raptors (0-1) invested heavily into their star two-guard DeMar DeRozan in the offseason, inking the 27-year old to a five-year, $139 million contract. He began paying immediate dividends on that hefty sum Wednesday, tallying a game-high 40 points and adding four rebounds, an assist and a steal.
While the stellar showing wasn’t necessarily a surprise from a player of his caliber, the fact that Jonas Valanciunas, and not Kyle Lowry, checked in as Toronto’s second-leading scorer was a tad more unexpected. The veteran big man dominated in his showdown with Andre Drummond, posting a 32-point, 11-rebound double-double that also included an assist. The dominant Raptors, which outscored Detroit in every quarter, didn’t need much else, with Lowry the only other player to hit double digits on the scoreboard.
The Pistons (0-1) were led by Tobias Harris’ 22 points, which he supplemented with five rebounds, an assist and a steal. Marcus Morris supplied a near double-double with 17 points, nine boards, three assists and a steal, but struggled from long range, draining only a pair of his eight three-point attempts. Drummond tallied 16 points, six rebounds and a steal, while the starting backcourt of Ish Smith and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope only managed 10 combined points on 5-for-19 shooting.
In addition to the combined 72 points they received from DeRozan and Valanciunas, the Raptors saw Lowry pitch in with 10 points, eight assists, five boards and a steal. Accuracy was the All-Star point guard’s biggest issue, as he could only manage a 3-for-13 tally from the field, including 1-for-5 from behind the arc. DeMarre Carroll registered eight points, seven rebounds, an assist and a steal, while rookie Pascal Siakam went for four points, nine boards and a steal over 22 minutes.
Detroit next takes on the Magic in their home opener on Friday, while Toronto remains home for an Eastern Conference Finals re-match with the Cavaliers on Friday as well.
