Kings’ OT heroics halted by Raptors on Carter’s special night

Kings’ OT heroics halted by Raptors on Carter’s special night originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Vince Carter’s Toronto Raptors jersey retirement night had everything but a Kings win.

Looking to extend the Kings’ winning streak to four games, DeMar DeRozan’s back-to-back late-game heroics fell short in Sacramento’s 131-128 overtime loss to Toronto on Saturday night at Scotiabank Center.

But not everything was doom and gloom for DeRozan despite a nail-biting loss. It was a bittersweet night for the star forward in his first return to Toronto as a member of the Kings

DeRozan, selected No. 9 overall by the Raptors in the 2009 NBA Draft, was honored to witness Carter’s No. 15 jersey become the first number retired by Toronto.

“It’s one of those things that, for me, in it being a unique situation of having such a close bond to this organization and this city, to play against Vince, to understand the history of Vince here, having a relationship with Vince, having this come full circle, to be here and to witness the incredible night that he had,” DeRozan told reporters.

“It’s a surreal moment because every time I come here, I just remember being a 19-year-old kid figuring out life. So just seeing it come full circle this way is special. I’m more than happy that I just got the opportunity to be here to witness it and feel the energy.”

As Carter, who also represented the Kings during his Hall-of-Fame career, looked on, his former teams delivered a high-pace back-and-forth affair, with Toronto shooting 17 of 37 (45.9 percent) from beyond the arc.

Fighting a 13-point deficit with six minutes left in regulation, the Kings – without guard Kevin Huerter – turned to DeRozan and star backcourt mate De’Aaron Fox for a second consecutive night.

Fox understood the assignment, scoring four of his 24 points in the fourth quarter, while DeRozan, who ended with 33 points and had a noteworthy exchange with rapper Drake, added 10 in the fourth quarter and all 8 of the Kings’ points in overtime.

And although the end result didn’t look like Friday night’s win over the Atlanta Hawks, DeRozan firmly believes…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/kings-ot-heroics-halted-raptors-062120580.html

Author : NBC Sports BayArea

Publish date : 2024-11-03 06:48:00

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