Toronto Raptors' Kyle Lowry Shows Why Home Is Where The Heart Is

 

The first thing Toronto Raptors All-Star guard Kyle Lowry could think about after beating the Philadelphia 76ers wasn’t celebrating the victory with his teammates, but instead being with his family.

Moments after scoring 21 points, five rebounds and five assists and leading Toronto to a 91-86 victory, Lowry raced over to the sideline and warmly embraced his son Karter Lowry. It’s been an bittersweet, up-and-down week for Lowry, who has soldiered through the Raptors’ recent struggles while also being named as a starter for the Eastern Conference in the upcoming NBA All-Star Game.

It’s been a great homecoming for Lowry, who met with current members of the Villanova Wildcats, his former NCAA team, and then watched Thursday’s announcement of the NBA All-Star starters with his teammates at his home in Philadelphia. That made Friday’s victory extra sweet since it also helped get his struggling team back on track.

The Raptors improved to 28-15 and remain tied for third spot in the Eastern Conference with the Chicago Bulls. The win was also a reversal of fortunes for Lowry and the Raptors, who have both been performing miserably lately. Despite the win, Toronto has still dropped eight out of their last 12 games.

Lowry is averaging 19.8 PPG this season, and has seen many of his numbers slip since the new year. His scoring average has fallen to 16.9 PPG in January, his field goal percentage dropped to .357 percent, while his turnovers have climbed to over 3.5 per game this month. It hasn’t been a pleasant story  for DeMar DeRozan either as his struggles to fully recover from a groin injury have greatly impacted his performance and the team’s as a whole.

Lowry’s strong showing down the stretch on Friday not only picked up the slack for DeRozan, but may have helped quiet some of his biggest doubters who had recently questioned his credentials to be in the starting five. All Lowry needs to do now is bottle up some of that home cooking and take it with him for the Raptors game against the Detroit Pistons on Sunday at the Air Canada Centre.

Peter Mallett is a blogger for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @RedCardTheRef1 like him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.