DeRozan scores 31 points in return to lift Raptors 118-109 over Clippers
TORONTO — DeMar DeRozan’s desire to play grew with every passing game he was forced to sit on the sidelines.
The three-time all-star returned Monday, scoring 31 points to lift the Toronto Raptors to a 118-109 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers, showing no rust from the seven of eight games he missed with a sprained ankle.
And if there was anything to be gained from his time on the bench, DeRozan said it was “motivation.”
“Sitting out, you kind of regain a certain hunger that you could lose track of when you’re out there playing,” he said. “It gives you that hunger all over again to get back out there, to do what you were doing, but even at a higher level.”