By Canadian Press

Raptors fans show DeMar DeRozan the love in his return to Toronto

Feb 22, 2019 | 9:01 PM

Toronto Raptors fans showed DeMar DeRozan plenty of loud love Friday upon his return to Toronto.

The Raptors had the last laugh in a tense 120-117 win over San Antonio, however. DeRozan finished with 23 points on 7-of-12 shooting for the Spurs while Kawhi Leonard, the man he was traded for, had 25 on 8-of-23 shooting.

A vocal Scotiabank Arena crowd wasted little time applauding the 29-year-old from Compton, Calif., in his first game back since the trade last July that sent him to San Antonio. DeRozan and the Spurs got a standing ovation when they entered the court for the pre-game warmup.

The roar returned when DeRozan and Austrian big man Jakob Poeltl, who was also included in the trade, were shown on the big screen during warmups.

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A second standing ovation came when DeRozan was introduced. The Spurs guard had just finished hugging Nav Bhatia, a courtside constant known as Superfan, and was posing for a selfie when the applause started. DeRozan put an arm up and waved to the crowd in appreciation. 

Leonard also got a loud reception when he was the last of the Raptors introduced.

The Raptors paid tribute to DeRozan on the video screen during the first timeout of the game. The 90-second video ended with the words “Thank You DeMar,” prompting a third standing ovation. DeRozan came off the bench and waved but the applause continued as the players took the court, with DeRozan waving in appreciation again.

Poeltl got his own — somewhat shorter — video tribute early in the second quarter, with some fans rising out of their seats to applaud the seven-footer who played 136 games for Toronto over two seasons.

Drafted ninth overall in the 2009 draft, DeRozan had expected to be a Raptor for life.

Instead he left town at odds with team president Masai Ujiri over the unwanted move. After nine seasons in Toronto, he exited as the franchise leader in points (13,296), field goals (4,716), free throws (3,539), and games (675).

The two teams met Jan. 3 in San Antonio with the Spurs winning comfortably 125-107 as DeRozan notched his first career triple-double with 19 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists.

DeRozan, surrounded by cameras as he headed towards the visitors dressing room before Friday’s game, had clearly been thinking about what welcome he might receive.

“When they get that long standing ovation, I always thought that was the coolest thing in the world,” DeRozan told a news conference Thursday. “I’ve never received one.”

Now he has had several.

The bad blood over the trade seems to have subsided. DeRozan sounded like he had moved on.

“Time does heal everything,” he said Thursday. “That doesn’t mean it’s going to go back to the same way that it was. I’ve moved on, I’m happy where I’m at. Still talk to most of the (Raptors players). So that’s that. That part will never changed, but we’ve all moved on.”

DeRozan, who is earning US$27.7 million in 2018-19, came into the game averaging 21.4 points, 6.1 rebounds and 6.1 assists an outing this season. Leonard, who is making $23.1 million, was averaging 27.0 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists a game.

There was another reunion Friday with Spanish brothers Marc and Pau Gasol lining up against each other. Pau, 38, was wearing San Antonio colours with Marc, 34, a recent Raptors acquisition from Memphis.

Marc, in foul trouble for much of the night, finished with four points, six assists and seven rebounds. Pau did not see action.

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Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press