Raptors' Carroll returns from 42-game absence in loss to Hawks

After 42 games on the shelf, Toronto Raptors swingman DeMarre Carroll was back in action Thursday night in a loss to his former team, the Atlanta Hawks.

Carroll, who's been recovering from arthroscopic right knee surgery, got two seven-minute stints - one in each half. He scored five points on 2-of-4 shooting (including a clutch three in the fourth quarter), and swiped a game-high four steals.

Despite a bit of rust and some relatively ginger movement, Carroll's return is encouraging news for the Raptors, who never seemed to have a firm timeline for the recovery of their prized free-agent signee.

After going under the knife in early January, Carroll was given a tentative timetable of eight weeks, and when he blew past it, the Raptors went radio silent on the matter of his progress. Carroll himself said he was targeting a late-March return, and when that didn't come to fruition either, there were rumblings that he may not return this season at all.

Now, it seems, he'll get at least a couple games to find a bit of rhythm before the playoffs. The Raptors have four games remaining after Thursday's contest, but Carroll - who has family in Atlanta - wanted his return to happen there.

Thanks to the lingering knee issue that ultimately necessitated surgery, as well as a bout of plantar fasciitis that preceded (and possibly contributed to) that knee issue, Carroll has been limited to just 24 games in his first season with the Raptors - who signed him to a four-year, $58-million deal last summer.

He came into Thursday's game averaging 11.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.7 steals, while shooting 38.8 percent from the field and 37.8 percent from 3-point range.