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Hardwood Highlight of the Night: Lowry drives, finds DeRozan open for 3

Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports / reuters

Friday night marked the return of Kyle Lowry, which bodes well for the Toronto Raptors' postseason hopes.

Simply put: Lowry is the Raptors' leader. The team will go where he takes it. Lowry leads the team in minutes, assists and steals and ranks second in scoring. He's also the team's emotional leader and the Raptors' only hope for passable defense at the point.

That's why it was so encouraging to have Lowry return from a back injury on Friday. A nagging back condition caused him to miss eight of the Raptors' past nine games. Lowry didn't look fully up to speed, but he did manage 10 points and eight rebounds in leading the Raptors to a last-second win over the Orlando Magic.

Most importantly, Lowry posted seven assists, including this beautiful drive-and-kick to DeMar DeRozan.

The play opens with DeRozan at the top of the key. Tyler Hansbrough sets a down screen, while Lowry runs across to present himself for a point-to-wing pass.

Hansbrough's screen creates separation for Lowry from his defender Elfrid Payton, who is a step slow to close out. Seeing this, Lowry takes the opportunity to attack the basket.

Lowry's drive catches the Magic defense off guard and everyone rushes to collapse into the paint. Three Magic defenders rotate over to meet Lowry, while Tobias Harris leaves DeRozan in anticipation for a rebound.

However, Lowry spots DeRozan all alone at the top of the key and hits his backcourt partner for an open look from deep. From there, DeRozan makes no mistake.

(Courtesy: TSN)

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