"Banged-up veterans reached for ice packs. On-court stragglers hoisted a few final jump shots. Raptors practice was winding down on Monday afternoon, until DeMar DeRozan wound it back up.

In a rare moment of post-workout explosiveness, DeRozan, the rookie swingman, threw down a towering baseline dunk atop Patrick O'Bryant, his 7-foot teammate. The jam stirred no end of trash talk among the travelling hoopsters. And it put a smile on the face of Jay Triano, the Raptors coach.

"DeMar," said Triano, "is happy to be home.""