Thursday night was probably not quite the experience Kawhi Leonard envisioned in his return to San Antonio after being traded from the Spurs to the Toronto Raptors over the offseason. Leonard was showered with boos by Spurs fans, and even heard “traitor” chants, for some reason — some of these fans sure think it’s spelled “trader” — in a 125-107 loss.
https://twitter.com/WorldWideWob/status/1080992516273553408
And now Kawhi Leonard has 18,581 people telling him he is a traitor… https://t.co/bESXlFSn7g
— Dime (@DimeUPROXX) January 4, 2019
Kawhi gets booed on 1st bucket and Danny Green couldn't hold back a smile pic.twitter.com/LY7WwqWNLK
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 4, 2019
The two-way star finished with 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field, one game after scoring a career-high 45 points.
Meanwhile, the guy on the other side of the trade did quite well. DeMar DeRozan — a member of the Raptors for the previous nine seasons — recorded his first-ever triple-double. DeRozan had 21 points, 14 rebounds, and 11 assists to lead San Antonio to the big victory.
.@DeMar_DeRozan balled out in San Antonio! 👀
📊: 21 PTS, 14 REB, 11 AST#GoSpursGo pic.twitter.com/hyxoHdouae
— NBA TV (@NBATV) January 4, 2019
That’s the third win in a row for the Spurs (22-17), and they’re now the West’s seventh seed, four games behind the Denver Nuggets for the No. 1 seed in a crowded race.
