After a breakout 2016-2017 season in which he averaged 27.3 points per game, Toronto Raptors swingman DeMar DeRozan has taken a mild step back in the scoring department. Through 34 games in 2017-2018, the now 28-year-old wing was averaging “only” 24.1 points per contest and, while he is arguing playing the best basketball of his career (alongside impressive team-based success) in a big-picture sense, it was apparently time for the scoring gene to come to the forefront.
DeRozan and the Raptors played host to the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday evening and, though it took 53 minutes of clock time, the result was a Toronto victory and a career-best performance from the All-Star. DeRozan exploded for a franchise record (!) 52 points on 17-of-29 shooting and, for good measure, he contributed eight assists and five rebounds on the way to the 131-127 final margin.
MANS HOT!@DeMar_DeRozan x #NBAVote https://t.co/tVZ0PfTbzg
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) January 2, 2018
Of course, DeRozan did receive some help with Kyle Lowry (26 points, six rebounds, six assists) accompanying him with star-level play but this was a night for the former USC standout. Against a Bucks team with high-level athletes all over the floor, DeRozan was able to get to his spots with precision and, frankly, it isn’t every day that he is able to convert 56 percent of his attempts from beyond the three-point arc.
In some ways, Toronto’s victory over Milwaukee was relatively harmless in the grand scheme of early January NBA basketball. For DeMar DeRozan, though, it was one to remember for a long time and his showing will stick around in the record books as evidence.
