Raptors' DeRozan gets better of old friend

Josh Lewenberg

TSN Raptors Reporter

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TORONTO - Growing up in the Compton area, DeMar DeRozan first played against James Harden when the two California natives were around 12 years old.

"He didn't have no beard [back then]," the Raptors' guard joked after going head-to-head with his good friend on Monday night.

"I mean it's definitely cool because we've been playing against each other since we were kids. That's one of my closest friends in the league to this day."

Harden is one of four or five players vying for the league's MVP award while DeRozan, an all-star a year ago, has had a trying season derailed by injury. But, for at least one night, the Raptors' leading scorer got the better of his old pal.

"He knows my competitive spirit, I know his," said DeRozan, who scored a career-high 42 points and matched a personal best with 11 rebounds in Toronto's 99-96 win over the Rockets. "And every time we go out there and play against each other we're going to go at each other and have fun with it. So that's all it was."

DeRozan had 17 points at the half. He took a bunch of seemingly impossible jumpers, as per usual, hitting some and missing the others. He was having a good game, but it wasn't until the third quarter that most realized they were watching something special.

"He came up big," said Amir Johnson, DeRozan's teammate in Toronto for the past six seasons. "He stepped up. It was a huge game. There are some games where he just goes off. Tonight his shot was falling from everywhere. He closed the game for us."

Playing all but two minutes in the second half, DeRozan went off for 13 points in the third quarter. Harden, who had been held in check during the first half, scored 15 in that same frame.

As the fourth quarter began with the Rockets up by two, both guards were both locked in, making for one of the most entertaining finishes the Raptors have churned out in quite a while, perhaps all season. DeRozan took it one step further. 

Not exactly known for his defence, DeRozan asked to guard Harden, the league's second leading scorer and top free throw shooter. While Harden finished with 31 points, he was held to just three in the fourth, attempting just two free throws. 

"The most important thing was not only the points, was his defence," Dwane Casey said of DeRozan. "I thought his defence and his rebounding were as solid as everything else, which made it all around excellent game for him."

"It's kind of hard to play 40 minutes and play both ends so I try to pick and choose my moments when I'mma get on him," said DeRozan, who had some success guarding LeBron James in a win over Cleveland earlier this season. "I always choose the fourth quarter just in case I can give him a different look and put some length on him."

"This league is a matchup league," the Raptors' coach continued. "There are certain matchups guys are better at than others. There are certain players, no matter what their stats are, that are tough to defend for some players and DeMar certain matchups are good for him. He told on himself tonight with his individual defence. I told him we're going to expect it all the time."

DeRozan only had one 40-point game on his resume. His biggest moment of the night came on the play that earned him his new career high. With 19 seconds remaining and Harden - another player not known for his defence - in his face, the Raptors' guard drilled the 18-foot dagger to put Toronto up by three.

With Kyle Lowry out indefinitely, still nursing a back injury that appears more serious than the team originally let on, and Lou Williams having recently botched a critical late-game possession in Detroit, going to the red-hot DeRozan was a no-brainer.

It was Harden who carried his team over the Raptors in Houston last month. Toronto had just won five of six games against opponents with .500 or better records before getting blown out by the Rockets. Since then, they lost 10 straight to winning clubs, until Monday.

"It's definitely big," said the 25-year-old DeRozan. "I just tried to tell the guys, this is a critical moment where we can get some rhythm going, especially with these last couple games winding down. Understanding we've got to get back to us and how we were playing in the beginning of the season going into the playoffs."

DeRozan had missed 21 games with a groin ailment earlier this season, the first serious injury of his six-year NBA career. It took it's toll on his season, even after making his return in early January. 

"It takes time," Casey said. "For some players it takes longer, it takes the entire season to get over that, to get the confidence in your body and your explosiveness to fight through that. I think that's where he is. He's getting his conditioning his legs, the confidence in extending and getting separation on his shot as he did tonight. It takes time."

February was one of the worst months of DeRozan's career. Shooting 34 per cent from the field, he averaged 16.7 points. He was missing dunks and easy shots around the rim. His trademark mid-range pull-up jumper wasn't falling. He didn't look like himself.

Then March hit. In his first game of the new month, DeRozan dropped a then season-high 35 points on the 76ers. He would go on to score at least 20 in 13 of 15 contest's, closing the month with his career-best performance on Monday.

"I've always said that DeMar's an all-star," Casey stated after the game. "If he had stayed healthy, he would have been an all-star, just by his performance and where we were at that time. The coaches would have voted him in, I'm sure. Unfortunately injuries are a part of the game and that's what happened to him, but in my mind, DeMar DeRozan is an all-star. He's our all-star."