DeRozan, Valanciunas lead Raptors to 109-91 win over Pistons in season opener
TORONTO — Back on the Air Canada Centre floor almost five months to the day since their thrilling and historic playoff run came to an end, expectations were high.
DeMar DeRozan, Jonas Valanciunas and the Toronto Raptors delivered.
DeRozan scored 40 points, while Valanciunas had a career-high 32 plus 11 rebounds to lift the Raptors to a 109-91 victory over the Detroit Pistons in a crowd-pleasing season opener on Wednesday.
“That’s what we said: Give (DeRozan) the ball and let him work,” DeMarre Carroll said in a festive locker-room after the win. “He was on fire. He played like he’d been playing the whole season already. It was good for the team. JV came in and stepped in, too. It was the JV and DeMar show tonight.”