Kawhi Leonard scores 12 points in 19 minutes in Toronto Raptors debut
VANCOUVER — Kawhi Leonard’s first points as a Toronto Raptor came just over a minute into Saturday’s game, when he nimbly sidestepped Al-Farouq Aminu and scored on a jump shot.
They were also the Raptors’ first points of their pre-season, a fitting beginning to what Toronto hopes is a long relationship with Leonard, who was acquired in a blockbuster off-season trade.
Leonard had 12 points in the Raptors’ 122-104 win over the Portland Trail Blazers in his first game since Jan. 13, and showed glimpses of the greatness Masai Ujiri was counting on when he shipped beloved DeMar DeRozan to the Spurs for the two-time NBA defender of the year.
“I think everybody saw Kawhi, he was shaking off some rust, right?” said Nick Nurse, who was making his debut as Raptors’ head coach. “But you can obviously see the level that he has … he looks like we’re all running around really fast and he gets it and everything goes into slow motion. It’s kind of a gift for guys that are as good as him and it’s neat to watch, too.”