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Tim BontempsESPN
Fred VanVleet set a Toronto Raptors franchise record and a record for unskilled players, scoring 54 points on Tuesday night in Toronto’s 123-108 victory over the Orlando Magic.
“It was just time … It was just time,” VanVleet told SportstNet in Toronto. “I’ve missed a lot of openings this season, more than I usually do, but it was time. Sometimes you go into the groove and find that area, and tonight I managed to do that and my colleagues made a place. incredible work, finding me and examining me and taking my ball to my places. Many of them were just catches of fire. “
VanVleet set both records with a 3:46 layup remaining in the fourth quarter, a bucket that simultaneously broke DeMar DeRozan’s 52-point record, as well as Hall of Famer Moses Malone’s 53-point record for a raw player. VanVleet scored nearly half of Toronto’s points in a comfortable victory.
VanVleet started quickly scoring 17 points in the first quarter, reaching all five 3-point attempts. At the break, he scored 28 points, hitting eight 3-pointers. He surpassed his previous career by 36 points in the middle of the third quarter, reaching 46 and 11 in three points after three quarters.
VanVleet failed to break either Donyell Marshall’s 12-game single-game franchise record or Klay Thompson’s NBA record of 14. When he returned in the fourth quarter, he made two free throws after he was fouled on a drive and then made three uncontested plans to reach his record total.
He said he expects to hear from DeRozan, his former teammate, whom he said he is thinking about as he gets closer to the record.
“It was only a matter of time,” VanVleet said with a smile to beat DeRozan’s sign. “Every time I get a 30, I usually get a text from DeMar that says I’m weak because I don’t break his record. So I definitely had it in mind as I got close to stretching.” .
DeRozan took to Twitter shortly after the game to congratulate VanVleet, partially writing: “I’m glad you became champion! I told you!”
VanVleet finished 17-for-23 from the field, including 11-for-14 on 3 pointers and 9-for-9 on the free throw line. He also had 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocks in 37 minutes for Toronto, who swept a two-game set with Orlando.
In his fifth season, VanVleet previously set another record for a raw player this season, when he signed a four-year, $ 85 million contract to stay with the Raptors, who they signed him from Wichita State in 2016. The contract was the largest for a raw player in NBA history.