DeMar DeRozan continued his high scoring game. This time he won a shootout game against Russell Westbrook at Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma.
Toronto Raptors won 112-102 on Nov. 9 and DeRozan scored 37 points as reported by CBC. He also tallied six points and four rebounds. The 27-year old is now the NBA leading scorer with average 34.1 points per game.
Westbrook scored 36 points, only one point less than DeRozan. But the entire Raptors showed a better teamwork and game strategy than the Thunder. Toronto Raptors sucessfully contained Westbrook, so he could only make 9 of his 26 shots, while DeRozan made 13 of 22 shots.
However, the game showed other DeRozan teammate contributed much better than those of the Thunder. The teamwork and strategy of Toronto Raptors are shown to be more superior than the Thunder. Raptors head coach Dwane Casey pointed out their success is not because of one man but a teamwork.
"I thought everybody that guarded him did a decent job, but it was a five-man job," coach Casey said. "Not one guy is going to stop him, and I say that all the time. It's on the team."
This also showed how the Thunder relied too much on Westbrook. According to ESPN, game against the Raptors was a night full of frustration for Westbrook. He was unable to deliver his signature pick-and-rolls effectively, because as he was with the ball, two defender swarmed him and closing his movement.
On the other hand, the Raptors distributed the job well to the team. Compared to the Thunder, the Raptors’ team productivity is far better.
For the Thunder, there are only two players who scored a two-digit points that night - Victor Oladipo with 18 points and Steven Adams’ 14 points. While in Toronto Raptors four players did that. Kyle Lowry scored 19 points, Patrick Patterson came off-the-bench with 13 points, also Lucas Nogueira and DeMarre Carroll contributed 10 points each.
Watch the battle between DeRozan and Westbrook as Toronto Raptors defeated the Thunder 112-102 below:
