By Zharita Sese
Eagle News Service
TORONTO (Eagle News) — In what would have been Kyle Lowry’s return to the city he called home for the past nine seasons, it was his former team that stole the show as the Toronto Raptors defeated the Miami Heat Tuesday night, 110-106, in front of a subdued 500 fans.
The Toronto Raptors found themselves on the second night of a back-to-back, winning over the Atlanta Hawks just the night before. Despite the 12-point deficit they were in as they entered the half, the young core was able to rally back and outscore the Heat 60-44 in the second half. A key player that allowed this to happen was Gary Trent Jr. who scored 33 points in 41 minutes where he shot 55% from the field and 60% from the three.
With his performance Tuesday night, Trent finds himself breaking franchise records with the most games with five or more 3’s, surpassing Kyle Lowry’s prior record of four games.
Trent also tied DeMar DeRozan’s record for 5 consecutive 30+ points games and can claim another franchise record if he’s able to continue this streak Thursday night against the Chicago Bulls.
Beyond franchise numbers, however, Trent joins an elite group of NBA players who have scored 30-plus points with 5-plus 3’s in five consecutive games. The only other players to accomplish this are Stephen Curry, James Harden and Damian Lillard.
Trent doesn’t take lightly who he shares these records with, specifically when it comes to this franchise’s greats.
“It’s a surreal feeling, what [DeMar DeRozan] has done for this organization, the city, the type of player he is,” said Trent in his post-game interview. “To share that with him, all that he does and what he means to this organization, I can’t put into words.”
“He’s a rockstar…” said teammate Fred VanVleet when asked about Trent. “I have an appreciation for his game this year and just his compete level. He’s been carrying a big load for us offensively.”
Trent is averaging 18.2 points per game this season, shooting 42.9% from the field and 39.7% from deep.
The last time these two organizations met, they needed triple overtime to determine the winner, with the Raptors taking the 124-120 victory.
When asked what it’s like playing against Toronto, Miami head coach Erick Spoelstra said “it was not pretty for either team and that’s the way it’s going to be with Miami and Toronto probably forever. That’s just the nature of these two franchises going at each other.”
The next time these two teams go head-to-head will be on April 3rd. On that day former Toronto Raptor Kyle Lowry will find himself in front of a familiar crowd but this time as the opposing team.
(Eagle News Service)