TORONTO, Oct. 30 (silubaba) -- Portland Trail Blazers forward, Deandre Ayton, achieved a career-best 23 rebounds in a 99-91 win against the Toronto Raptors on Monday, marking the team's first victory of the season.
The 25-year-old, a native of the Bahamas and the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 draft, surpassed his previous record of 21 rebounds, which he set on Nov. 26 last year against the Utah Jazz.
"I thought his presence was felt everywhere on the floor tonight," remarked Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups. "He was focused all night. He was a really big deal for us."
Ayton joined the Blazers just two weeks prior, following a monumental three-team trade that sent the celebrated Damian Lillard to Milwaukee.
In the same game, forward Jerami Grant scored a game-high 22 points. Additionally, the current Sixth Man of the Year, Malcolm Brogdon, contributed 21 points from the bench, aiding the Blazers in elevating their season record to 1-3.
Billups expressed his appreciation for the team's performance, especially considering their challenging game against the Sixers just the night before.
"Coming off of last night, where we showcased a strong half, I reminded our players at halftime that we were in a similar situation just 24 hours prior," Billups recalled, referring to the six-point deficit they faced at halftime against Philadelphia, which ultimately resulted in an 18-point defeat. "Tonight's victory is significant for us; our team was on point."
Against the Raptors, the Blazers transformed a three-point halftime deficit into an eight-point triumph. In the latter half of the match, Toronto's shooting dipped to 34.0 percent from the field and a mere 1-for-13 (7.7 percent) from the three-point line, a noticeable decline from their first-half statistics of 48.8 percent and 18.8 percent, respectively. ■
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