TORONTO – Fred VanVleet looked like he had finally run out of gas.
The Raptors’ guard played the entire third quarter, scoring 18 of his – at the time – 46 points and helping his team take a commanding lead over Orlando. The frame came to an end with VanVleet sprinting the length of the court to chase down Terrence Ross, stripping him of the ball at the rim and preventing a buzzer-beating layup.
He crouched down in the paint, elbows on his knees. He should have been exhausted, nobody would have blamed him if he was, but that wasn’t the problem, as it turned out.
“No, I didn’t run out of gas, I saw that, somebody said I ran out of gas, but I was hit below the belt,” VanVleet revealed following his historic night – a 54-point masterpiece in Toronto’s 123-108 win over the Magic.
VanVleet set a Raptors’ franchise record for most point in a game, passing his former teammate DeMar DeRozan, who scored 52 in 2018. This wasn’t a typical 50-point performance, though, which is what made it – and what makes the player behind it – so special.
In most cases, when a player is having the game of their life offensively and seeing the ball go through the rim as much as VanVleet did on Tuesday, you might expect them to come down and jack up as many shots as the 48-minute window will allow. Some would mail it in defensively, thinking only of where their next three might come from.
However, the 26-year-old needed just 23 field goal attempts, hitting 17 of them. He drained 11 of his 14 three-point tries – tied for the seventh-most any NBA player has ever made in a game, and coming one shy of Donyell Marshall’s team record – and he knocked down all nine of his free throws. No player has ever reached the 50-point plateau with a higher true shooting percentage (100.1). In other words, you probably won’t see a more efficient offensive display.
“It was easy,” VanVleet said. “No disrespect to the Magic, but I mean for most of those I was open. They were in rhythm. They were clean looks. They were within the offense. That’s why I was able to remain patient and still pass out of double teams and not take bad shots, because of the way I got all my points.”
As well as he shot the ball, and as much as he scored, he almost certainly expended more energy on the defensive end, where he recorded three steals and three blocks and continued to make his case as one of the league’s best two-way guards.
Effort plays like the strip steal on Ross to end the third quarter have become a regular part of VanVleet’s game. Even if the jumper isn’t falling, like when he shot 1-for-7 from long range in the first of two wins over Orlando this week, Toronto can still bank on him making an impact defensively. On nights like this, his boundless energy and effort just make the offensive output that much more impressive.
“It’s his makeup, it’s his character, that’s the way he plays,” said Nick Nurse, who’s team improved to 9-12 with the win. “I think of all the guys on the team this year, he’s been ready and he’s played both ends and he’s played solidly almost every night out. It’s how he plays. It’s a credit to him and it’s awesome he plays that way, for sure.”
“He’s a winner, simple as that,” said Kyle Lowry, who quietly recorded his 15th triple-double as a member of the Raptors on Tuesday, with his 10th assist setting VanVleet up for his record-breaking bucket. “He wants to win, and he wants to help his team win at the highest of levels. That’s how he’s been special. He’s been a guy that just plays hard and does whatever it takes to win basketball games.”
As VanVleet was finishing up his post-game interview on the team broadcast, Lowry and the rest of the Raptors’ players were waiting by the door in the visitor’s locker room at Amway Center. When he walked in they showered him with water bottles. Lowry, a mentor to VanVleet from his rookie season in Toronto, was the first to give him a hug and would present him with the game ball.
There aren’t many players around, especially young ones, that would elicit that kind of reaction from their teammates, guys that have the respect and admiration of everybody in the room. But if you aren’t rooting for VanVleet, or you can’t appreciate his story and how far he’s come, then you’re truly missing out.
His 54 points were the most scored by an undrafted player in NBA history, passing the great Moses Malone, who had 53 points back in 1982. In 2016, VanVleet famously bet on himself after all 30 teams passed on him, most of them multiple times. He clawed and scraped his way onto the Raptors’ roster and honed his craft in the G League before blossoming into a Finals hero and NBA champion, and signing a four-year, $85 million deal this past off-season.
“Y’all know how I feel about him, that’s my little brother, man, and I’m proud of him,” Lowry said. “You can’t put into words the amount of work that went in there… I’m happy to be a part of the process. I was more hype than he was trying to get [him] 50 points. Words can’t describe how I feel right now.”
“I pride myself on trying to play the right way,” said VanVleet. “When you play with a pure heart and a clear conscience and a clear soul, some good things happen for you, and your teammates will be happy for you.”
If the Raptors are going to turn their disappointing season around, they’re going to need a spark. These two wins were a start, even if they did come against the lowly Magic. Toronto had lost three straight going into this two-game series with Orlando, and will play eight of the next nine contests away from its home base in Tampa. When you’re struggling, as this team has for most of the campaign, you’ll take what you can get.
It’s been a while since they’ve experienced something like this, though – a moment of joy that can bring them together as a team. Perhaps VanVleet’s big night can be their spark.
“They were more excited all night than I was, and that’s a testament to this group and this team and the direction that we’re going and just the love we have for one another,” VanVleet said. “The win was big, for sure, but just those moments, it’s hard to kinda get together with all these COVID protocols and things like that, the team vibe, but moments like that bring us all closer.”
NEW YORK – Toronto Blue Jays reliever Chad Green and Canadian slugger Tyler O’Neill of the Boston Red Sox were named finalists for the Major League Baseball Players’ Association’s American League comeback player award on Monday.
Chicago White Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet was the other nominee.
New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani and Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. were named player of the year finalists.
The award winners, selected via player voting, will be named Saturday before Game 2 of the World Series.
Green, who missed most of the 2022 and ’23 seasons after undergoing Tommy John surgery, was a high-leverage option for the Blue Jays this past season and filled in at closer over the second half of the campaign.
The right-hander converted his first 16 save opportunities and finished the year with a 4-6 record, 17 saves and a 3.21 earned-run average over 53 appearances.
O’Neill, a native of Burnaby, B.C., also endured back-to-back injury-plagued seasons in ’22 and ’23.
After being traded to the Red Sox in the off-season, O’Neill set an MLB record by hitting a homer in his fifth straight Opening Day. He finished with 31 homers on the year and had an OPS of .847.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
NEW YORK – Florida Panthers centre Sam Reinhart was named NHL first star of the week on Monday after leading all players with nine points over four games last week.
Reinhart had four goals, five assists and a plus-seven rating to help the Stanley Cup champions post a 3-0-1 record on the week and move into first place in the Atlantic Division.
New York Rangers left-winger Artemi Panarin took the second star and Minnesota Wild goaltenderFilip Gustavsson was the third star.
Panarin had eight points (4-4) over three games.
Gustavsson became the 15th goalie in NHL history to score a goal and had a 1.00 goals-against average and .962 save percentage over a pair of victories.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Deshaun Watson won’t finish the season as Cleveland’s starting quarterback for the second straight year.
He’s injured again, and the Browns have new problems.
Watson ruptured his right Achilles tendon in the first half of Sunday’s loss to Cincinnati, collapsing as he began to run and leading some Browns fans to cheer while the divisive QB laid on the ground writhing in pain.
The team feared Watson’s year was over and tests done Monday confirmed the rupture. The Browns said Watson will have surgery and miss the rest of the season but “a full recovery is expected.”
It’s the second significant injury in two seasons for Watson, who broke the glenoid (socket) bone in his throwing shoulder last year after just six starts.
The 29-year-old went down Sunday without being touched on a draw play late in the first half. His right leg buckled and Watson crumpled to the turf. TV replays showed his calf rippling, consistent with an Achilles injury.
He immediately put his hands on his helmet, clearly aware of the severity of an injury similar to the one Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers sustained last year.
As he was being assisted by the team’s medical staff and backup Dorian Thompson-Robinson grabbed a ball to begin warming up, there was some derisive cheers and boos from the stands in Huntington Bank Field.
Cleveland fans have been split over Watson, who has been accused of being sexually inappropriate with women.
The reaction didn’t sit well with several Watson’s teammates, including star end Myles Garrett, the NFL’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year, who was appalled by the fans’ behavior.
“We should be ashamed of ourselves as Browns and as fans to boo anyone and their downfall. To be season-altering, career-altering injury,” Garrett said. “Man’s not perfect. He doesn’t need to be. None of us are expected to be perfect. Can’t judge him for what he does off the field or on the field because I can’t throw stones for my glass house.
“Ultimately everyone’s human and they’re disappointed just like we are, but we have to be better than that as people. There’s levels to this. At the end of the day, it’s just a game and you don’t boo anybody being injured and you don’t celebrate anyone’s downfall.”
Backup quarterback Jameis Winston also admonished the uncomfortable celebration.
“I am very upset with the reaction to a man that has had the world against him for the past four years, and he put his body and life on the line for this city every single day,” he said. “The way I was raised, I will never pull on a man when he’s down, but I will be the person to lift him up.
“I know you love this game. When I first got here, I knew these were some amazing fans, but Deshaun was treated badly and now he has to overcome another obstacle. So I’m going to support him, I’m going to lift him up and I’m going to be there for him.”
The injury is yet another twist in Watson’s tumultuous time with the Browns.
Cleveland traded three first-round draft picks and five overall to Houston in 2022 to get him, with owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam approving the team giving Watson a fully guaranteed, five-year $230 million contract.
With a solid roster, the Browns were desperate to find a QB who could help them compete against the top AFC teams.
The Browns had moved on from Baker Mayfield despite drafting him No. 1 overall in 2018 and making the playoffs two seasons later.
But Watson has not played up to expectations — fans have been pushing for him to be benched this season — and Cleveland’s move to get him has been labeled an abject failure with the team still on the hook to pay him $46 million in each of the next two seasons.
Watson’s arrival in Cleveland also came amid accusations by more than two dozen women of sexual assault and harassment during massage therapy sessions while he played for the Texans. Two grand juries declined to indict him and he has settled civil lawsuits in all but one of the cases.
Watson was suspended by the NFL for his first 11 games and fined $5 million for violating the league’s personal conduct policy before he took his first snap with the Browns. The long layoff — he sat out the 2021 season in a contract dispute — led to struggles once he got on the field, and Watson made just six starts last season before hurting his shoulder.
Cleveland signed veteran Joe Flacco, who went 4-1 as a starter and led the Browns to the playoffs.
Before Watson got hurt this year, he didn’t play much better. He was one of the league’s lowest-rated passers for a Cleveland team that hasn’t scored 20 points in a game and is back in search of a franchise QB.
