Best Performances From DeMar DeRozan

Holly MacKenzie - Raptors.com

DeMar DeRozan turned in a career performance in Sunday’s win against the Houston Rockets with 42 points. Here's a look at some of DeRozan’s top offensive performances over his five-year career.

Playing in Kyle Lowry’s hometown without the point guard in uniform, DeRozan provided a huge boost for the Raptors in a 114-103 victory. Delivering a 35-point performance to go with nine rebounds and five assists, DeRozan kicked off his massive month of March in a big way.

Although the Raptors did not make the playoffs during their 2012-2013 campaign, they closed out the season strong winning seven of their final eight games. In a victory against Brooklyn in the Raptors' 80th game of the season, DeRozan played nearly 43 minutes and scored a game-high 36 points, while finishing a perfect 9-for-9 from the free-throw line.

Despite a 36-point, 10-rebound effort from DeRozan under the bright lights of MSG, a shorthanded Raptors team dropped a tough game. After giving up a 78-point first half to the New York Knicks, DeRozan and co. did their best to fight back in the second, but the damage was done.

Road games in Portland haven’t been kind to the Raptors, but DeRozan did his best to help his team to a victory in last season’s match-up against the Blazers. Although DeRozan missed an overtime loss in Portland this season, he gave the Blazers 36 points in a February game in 2014. Most impressive, he dished a career-high 12 assists.

During the same road trip as the Portland game mentioned above, DeRozan again scored 36 points in a road loss for the Raptors, this time adding eight assists. On that five-game west coast swing, DeRozan averaged 26.4 points and 5.8 assists.

DeRozan poured in a 37-point, eight-rebound, six-assist performance in a marathon triple-overtime game against the Utah Jazz at the ACC in 2012. Thanks to late-game heroics from Al Jefferson (including the second three-pointer of his career to send the game into the initial overtime) Raptors couldn’t pull out the victory, but DeRozan did all he could, logging a career-high 60 minutes.

In a loss to a Chicago Bulls team that was without Derrick Rose, DeRozan again led the way with a 37-point night that included making four of his six attempts from beyond the arc. After a slow start, he exploded in the second half, making 10 of his 13 field goal attempts after the break.

Air Canada Centre was delighted with DeRozan’s 32-point performance against the Golden State Warriors during the 2013-2014 season. In addition to getting to the line 12 times, DeRozan matched Warriors All-Star Stephen Curry step for step. Curry finished with 34 points to DeRozan’s 32, but DeRozan walked off the court victorious.

One of DeRozan’s best games in the sophomore year of his career went under the radar because it was played on New Year’s Eve. In a loss to the Rockets, DeRozan dropped a then-career-high 37 points, thanks in large part to 14 trips to the free throw line, where he converted 13 attempts.

The Raptors were just starting to get on their huge roll to start 2014 with a huge home victory against the Dallas Mavericks thanks in large part to DeRozan’s first 40-point effort. Kyle Lowry played the game while battling illness and went 0-for-10 from the floor, making DeRozan’s heroics that much more necessary.

DeRozan notched a new career-high to close out one of the best months of his career in a victory to the Houston Rockets. Playing without Lowry who missed his fifth game in Toronto's last six contests, the Raptors needed every one of DeRozan's 42 points. While the final jumper to give the team a three-point lead will be remembered most, DeRozan will cherish the memory of beating childhood friend and current MVP candidate James Harden at his own game while scoring 42 points, grabbing 11 rebounds (matching a career high) and getting to the line 17 times.