The Toronto Raptors will be without Kyle Lowry for the foreseeable future. That’s a big blow for a team trying to make up lost ground in the race for home-court advantage in the playoffs.
Fortunately for Toronto, they still have the other half of their top-tier backcourt. DeMar DeRozan has been phenomenal in the short stretch without Lowry with games of 43, 33, and 37 points over the last three contests, all without Lowry.
The most recent of those games was DeRozan’s most impactful during that stretch. Not only did he drop 37 points on 13-25 shooting while adding eight rebounds and two assists, but he also put in the game-winning jumper to get the Raptors an important victory.
With only a few seconds remaining, DeRozan isolated on Derrick Rose before spinning into an elbow jumper. It was a positively Kobe-esque shot from a player who has emulated Bryant his entire career.
DeMar DeRozan hits the turnaround game-winner over Derrick Rose!#WeTheNorth pic.twitter.com/kOXwSmkf5p
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) February 28, 2017
DeRozan’s shot gave Toronto its 36th win of the season and put them half a game ahead of the Wizards for the third seed in the Eastern Conference. They are also now only two games behind the Celtics for the second seed.
DeRozan’s shot was just another highlight in a fantastic scoring season for the Raptors’ shooting guard.
