Fred VanVleet scored a franchise record 54 points in the Toronto Raptors' 123-108 win at the Orlando Magic. The total is also the most ever recorded by an undrafted player in NBA history, surpassing Moses Malone's record of 53.
"Unbelievable. I'm very humbled and honored to be in the same sentence as both of those guys," said VanVleet, who finished the game 17-for-23 from the field, 11-for-14 from the 3-point line and 9-for-9 from the foul line. He also had 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocks in 37 minutes.
"Just a special night, obviously, a lot of different levels," he said. "So just trying to enjoy it for now, but it's not a championship or anything like that. It was a good game for me, and I'll enjoy all the love for a couple hours and get ready for the next one."
VanVleet took only 23 shots as he scored in the flow of the offense.
"It was easy," VanVleet said. "No disrespect to the Magic. But I mean, for most of those, I was open. They were in rhythm. They were clean looks. They were within the offense. That's why I was able to remain patient and still pass out of double-teams and not take bad shots because of the way I got all my points. There were maybe one or two quick, bad shots, if that.
"Most of those were in rhythm, within the offense, playing in the flow of the game; and I even told the guys, 'You guys, keep playing.' I could feel them start to look for me to the point where they weren't looking at the rim anymore. I wanted to win more than I wanted 50 points. Just trying to continue to play with a pure heart and let the game come to me, and I was rewarded for that."
