Valanciunas has 18 points, 11 boards to lift Raptors past Pistons
TORONTO — When Jonas Valanciunas lined up for a three-point shot Tuesday night, Detroit’s Andre Drummond made no move to come out to guard him. Drummond instead waved a dismissive hand at the Toronto Raptors big man as if to say it wasn’t worth his effort.
Valanciunas missed on the three-point point attempt, but got the better of Drummond a couple of minutes later, shimmying past the Pistons centre for a basket on a solid night for the Lithuanian.
Valanciunas finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds to lift the Raptors to a 116-94 pre-season victory over the Pistons at the Air Canada Centre.
“He’s done an excellent job and I’m not even looking at his scoring,” said coach Dwane Casey. “His reads, his rolling to the right place, understanding he has to be an outlet if they’re blitzing and he’s doing a good job with that, catching and making a decision, whether it’s scoring or making the pass.