NBA scores 2018: Time to add DeMar DeRozan to the MVP conversation

We’ll remember this DeMar DeRozan play for a long, long time.

We might remember this play for a little bit, though surely not as long as the previous one.

What we probably won’t remember is DeRozan dragging a disengaged Raptors team to yet another victory, this time against a foe in the Pistons that showed the kind of fire and togetherness they’ve failed to display since the early days of the Blake Griffin era.

This finally looked like the moment the Raptors would bow to the dog days of a long, successful season. They fell apart in the second quarter they usually own, saw Serge Ibaka hit the showers early with a double technical, and trailed by double digits at halftime.

That’s when DeRozan made sure Toronto wouldn’t lose. He teamed with Kyle Lowry -- a non-entity in the first half -- to slice into Detroit’s lead quickly in the third quarter. Then, with the game on the line, DeRozan dropped 14 points in the final five and a half minutes, including that emphatic slam after 43 tough minutes.

There’s a reason three Pistons ran three players at him in the closing seconds of overtime, leaving VanVleet wide open.

If there’s any chink in Toronto’s armor, it’s a reversion to bad ISO-ball habits in crunch time. But as long as the Raptors have DeRozan hitting any shot he wants and making the right ply when he’s covered, this qualifies as a first-world problem. Lots of teams revert to ISO-ball tendencies down the stretch. They just aren’t lucky enough to have a guy like DeRozan.

As long as we’re brainstorming MVP candidates that might be able to steal a couple votes off James Harden, why not DeRozan?

Ho hum, another win. This time, they held off a spirited Bucks rally to get their 17th in a row.

This must feel like a layup for Harden.

Anthony Davis was at it again.

Sadly, we also got another sprained ankle for good measure. Let’s hope AD is OK, because the Pelicans are one of the best stories of the year. That’s 10 wins in a row, by the way.

What do you get when you mix an angry LeBron James with the porous Nuggets defense? You get a Cleveland win and an 39-point, 10-assist effort from Bron. He was toying with them.

The Nuggets hung around, but clearly Paul Millsap’s return hasn’t fixed their defensive woes. They’re now in a virtual tie for eighth place, and it’ll be a disaster if they miss the playoffs.

In one corner: the 42-loss Chicago Bulls, who recently absorbed a slap on the wrist from the league for benching two healthy veteran starters in Justin Holiday and Robin Lopez. In the other: the 46-loss Grizzlies, winless since January. Who would emerge triumphant in the tank-off of the season?

We got an entertaining game in the end, but one that included a bunch of shenanigans. Forced to start Holiday, the Bulls:

Huh.

Meanwhile, the Grizzlies ... well let’s just let these tweets speak for themselves.

Chicago held off Memphis’ comeback despite Dillon Brooks’ best efforts, but the real winners were the friends both teams made along the way.

Jazz 104, Pacers 84
Raptors 121, Pistons 119 (OT)
Bulls 119, Grizzlies 110
Rockets 110, Bucks 99
Pelicans 114, Kings 101
Cavaliers 113, Nuggets 108
Lakers 107, Magic 106