VANCOUVER — Kyle Lowry slashed through defenders with ease, moving with a fluidity earned over a summer of hard work.
The Raptors point guard poured in 26 points in 21 minutes to lift Toronto to a 93-73 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers in the team’s NBA pre-season debut — showing off what a summer of slimming down can do.
"I thought Kyle moved well," said coach Dwane Casey. "I thought he did a good job, I thought Cory Joseph came in and did a good job with the second unit.
"Kyle was aggressive, made his shots, got to the free throw line, which was huge."
Lowry played the best basketball of his career early last season to earn NBA all-star honours, but his play deteriorated down the stretch. He turned heads when he showed up at training camp, and Sunday night he was like a man on a mission, shooting 7-for-10 from the field, and 11-for-12 from the free throw line.
"That’s Kyle. He has been doing it all week," said DeMar DeRozan, who had 11 points in 26 minutes.
"The only thing is he just thinks he’s more athletic now," he added with a smirk. "I don’t know why. He’s lighter, yeah, but now he thinks he’s more of a finesse player or something."
Jonas Valanciunas, who’s fresh off a strong EuroBasket performance that saw Lithuania win silver and earn an Olympic berth, grabbed 12 rebounds to go with 10 points. But he also had five turnovers.
Luis Scola scored 13 points, one of several off-season acquisitions that had solid debuts. The Toronto-born Joseph looked comfortable directing the second unit, and will see more playing time Monday when the Raptors play Golden State in San Jose — Lowry is nursing a sore groin.
The game provided an early gauge of Toronto’s defence, the focus, as always, of Casey’s training camp.
"I think defensively we were great," said DeMarre Carroll, who instantly provided the defensive bite the Raptors were hoping for when they acquired him in the off-season. "Offensively we were a little stagnant. But we really haven’t practised offence that much during training camp. That’ll come."
Carroll was particularly pleased with the communication on defence.
"We were helping one another. We were talking. Every shot they shot was a contested shot. That’s all you can ask for in the NBA, a contested shot."
JJ Redick led the Clippers with 15 points, while Blake Griffin — who knocked the shot clock off its mooring with a thunderous dunk during warmup — added 14.
Lowry led the way with 11 points in a first quarter that saw the Raptors lead 24-16. Toronto took a 40-34 lead into halftime, and had assembled a 77-62 advantage by the end of the third quarter.
The game drew a capacity crowd of 19,000 that included former Vancouver Grizzlies guard Mike Bibby. Fans waved "We The North" banners. They booed Toronto’s arch-enemy Paul Pierce — who led the Washington Wizards in a sweep of the Raptors in last season’s playoffs.
The Grizzlies played in Vancouver for six seasons before moving to Memphis, and Sunday’s crowd was dotted with the old Grizzlies jersey.
Both Casey and Clippers coach Doc Rivers said they had fond memories of NBA games in Vancouver.
"It’s an amazing city. Without saying too much, I miss Vancouver. It’s just a great city, it really is. It’s vibrant, it’s just nice. Deserves a team, along with Seattle," Rivers said.
Added Casey: "There should be a team in Vancouver and Seattle, I’m not giving up on those two cities, two great crowds. When we play here the crowd is unbelievable, supportive. If I had enough money I’d buy a team and put it either here or in Seattle."
The pre-season game was the first of four in the Canada series.
Andrew Wiggins and the Minnesota Timberwolves will play the Chicago Bulls in Winnipeg next Saturday. The Raptors face the T’Wolves in Ottawa on Oct. 14. And the Raptors cap the series when they play the Washington Wizards in Montreal on Oct. 23.
The final three games are expected to sell out as well.
NOTES: Anthony Bennett (shoulder) and James Johnson (Achilles tendon) both sat out the game.
