-
Tim BontempsESPN
Fred VanVleet set a Toronto Raptors franchise record and a record for unknown players by scoring 54 points in Toronto’s 123-108 victory over the Orlando Magic on Tuesday night.
“It was just time. … It was just time,” VanVleet told SportstNet in Toronto. “I missed a lot of open people this season, more than I usually do, but it was time. Sometimes you come into the groove and find that zone, and tonight I was able to do it and my teammates have an incredible job around me. “Finding and looking at me and getting the ball in my place. A lot of them were just catch-and-shoot.”
VanVleet set both records with a 3:46 lineup in the fourth quarter, a bucket that simultaneously surpassed DeMar DeRozan’s Raptors record of 52 points, as well as the Hall of Famer Moses Malone’s record of 53 points for ‘ an undefeated player. VanVleet scored almost half of Toronto’s points in a comfortable victory.
VanVleet started quickly by scoring 17 points in the first quarter and hitting all five of his three-point attempts. At halftime, he reached 28 points and scored eight three-pointers. He surpassed his previous career high of 36 points halfway through the third quarter, reaching 46 and 11 scoring three points after three quarters.
VanVleet could not pursue Donyell Marshall’s single-franchise record of 12 three-pointers or Klay Thompson’s NBA record of 14. When he returned in the fourth quarter, he made two free throws after being crashed on a ride and then made. three undisputed lineups to reach his record total.
He said he expected to hear from DeRozan, his former teammate, who he thought he was thinking of, when he came close to the record.
“It was just a matter of time,” VanVleet said with a smile to give DeRozan his point. “Every time I get a thirty, I usually get a text from DeMar that says I’m weak because I did not pass his record. I definitely had him in mind when I got close to the piece.”
DeRozan took to Twitter shortly after the match to congratulate VanVleet and partly wrote: “Glad you have champion!
VanVleet finished 17-for-23 from the field, including 11-for-14 on 3 points, and 9-for-9 from the free-throw line. He also had three rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocks in 37 minutes for Toronto, which swept a duel with Orlando.
In his fifth season, VanVleet previously set another record for an unknown player this off-season when he signed a $ 85 million four-year contract to stay with the Raptors, who signed him from Wichita State in 2016. . The contract was the largest for an unknown player in NBA history.