TORONTO - Jonas Valanciunas had 17 points to lead the Toronto Raptors to a 109-102 season-opening victory over a pesky Atlanta Hawks squad Wednesday night.
Amir Johnson added 16 points, eclipsing his previous opening-night high of 13 points for Toronto, which improved to 11-9 all-time on opening night and 8-6 when starting the season at home. That delighted the loud, enthusiastic Air Canada Centre sellout of 19,800, many donning the free white We The North t-shirts left on their seats as they arrived.
DeMar DeRozan had 15 points and a career-high 11 rebounds while Terrence Ross added 13 points for Toronto, now 12-8 all-time in home openers.
Toronto's Lou Williams had eight points against his former team. The Raptors acquired Williams and Lucas Noqueira from Atlanta on June 30 for forward John Salmons.
Kyle Korver, Jeff Teague and Mike Scott all had a game-high 20 points for Atlanta.
The Raptors are coming off a club-record 48 wins last year that earned them their first playoff appearance since 2008. But Toronto's promising season ended with a heart-breaking seven-game opening-round loss to the Brooklyn Nets.
