Toronto Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry joins select company with 5,000th assist
TORONTO — On a night when he wasn’t even meant to play, Raptors all-star Kyle Lowry added to his legacy.
Lowry, 32, has been at or near the top of the assists chart all season. Now the veteran point guard finds himself in select company after recording his 5,000th career assist.
The milestone helper was like so many others. With a little more than five minutes remaining Thursday, Lowry found Serge Ibaka on a pick-and-roll and the big man beat Deandre Ayton to the hoop for a dunk in a 111-109 win over the Phoenix Suns.
“That’s awesome,” said Toronto coach Nick Nurse. “He’s been in the league a long time and he’s had the ball in his hands and got it to a lot of people. Since I came here 5 1/2 years ago, it was the first thing I noticed — how he’d find the right guys to get the ball to. He really commands the offence and knows where to get it.