Valanciunas enjoys career-night in Raps' win over Pistons
Jonas Valanciunas didn't have the greatest summer, and came into this season hearing questions yet again about his status as the Toronto Raptors' center of the present and future.
He cast those doubts aside Wednesday, scoring a career-high 32 points in Toronto's season-opening 109-91 win over the Detroit Pistons. Adding to his monster offensive night, Valanciunas grabbed 11 rebounds and shot 10-of-15 from the floor.
Related: Raptors' Valanciunas posterizes 7-foot-3 Boban
Alongside DeMar DeRozan, who flirted with his career high and finished with 40 points, the pair became the first teammates in NBA history to record a 40- and 30-point performance in a season opener, according to Elias Sports.
By Valanciunas' own description, he was bad playing for his native Lithuania in this summer's Olympics, a tournament that ended in a quarterfinal loss to Australia. On Wednesday he was loose again, happy about his performance.
Valanciunas, asked why the Pistons were biting on his pump fakes: "Let's not talk about that. As long as they're biting we're good"
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) October 27, 2016
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