Duke basketball product does what only Kawhi Leonard did
By Matt Giles
Duke basketball alum Gary Trent Jr. is an absolute scoring machine of late.
Before Saturday night, according to a tweet from StatMuse, two-time NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard stood as the only player in Toronto Raptors franchise history to total at least 30 points, five steals, and five made threes in a game. But now, former Duke basketball one-and-done Gary Trent Jr., who went No. 37 overall at the 2018 NBA Draft, has joined Leonard on that list.
He did so by tallying 33 points and five steals while shooting 5-for-15 from downtown for the Raptors (24-23) in their 124-120 triple-overtime road win over the Miami Heat (32-18). Granted, the 6-foot-5, 210-pound shooting guard required more than 55 minutes on the court to post that stat line.
On the other hand, it’s worth noting Trent never turned the ball over. That’s rather impressive for anyone, yet even more so for a guy who mostly dwells on the perimeter.
Quite a span for the Duke basketball product
Speaking of impressive, Gary Trent Jr.’s past three scoring totals are 32, 32, and 33 points. The 23-year-old Minnesota native shot a combined 16-for-35 from deep during this career-best stretch and finished around 50 percent from the field in every contest, committing all of two turnovers along the way.
Trent has drawn a starting nod in all but one of his 38 appearances this season and is averaging career-highs with 17.2 points, 2.0 assists, and 1.9 steals per outing.
The red-hot Trent and the Toronto Raptors, now No. 8 in the Eastern Conference standings, return to action at 7:30 p.m. ET Monday with a road bout against the Atlanta Hawks (23-25).
Next. Recruit implies Duke scared off others. dark
Stay tuned to Ball Durham for more on Gary Trent Jr., plus other news and views about NBA Blue Devils.