DeMar DeRozan starred in the absence of Russell Westbrook in the Sacramento Kings’ 123-115 victory over the Toronto Raptors, returning with 28 points and four assists. However, it was not the most efficient night for the 36-year-old, who went 7-18 from the field and had just two points in the entire first half.

During his press conference post-game, Westbrook had a hilarious jab for his teammate, yelling from behind the scenes that DeRozan should be told that the game started “at 8, not 9,” per a post on X by Lindsay Dunn.

“Make sure to tell him the game started at 8, not 9,” Westbrook said, leading to laughter from both the reporter and DeRozan.

In response, DeRozan eventually claimed that at his age, it sometimes takes time to get going.

“I knew I was going to get it going, with me and Russ being old, sometimes it takes a lil second to get started,” he said.

Westbrook, who sat out of the game due to a toe injury, was only one of several stars who sat out for Sacramento. Isaiah Stevens and Keegan Murray were both unavailable, joining the likes of Domantas Sabonis, De'Andre Hunter and Zach LaVine, who are all out for the season.

DeRozan was ably supported by Precious Achiuwa, who also had 28 points but had a much more efficient night, going 12-19 from the field and also producing 19 rebounds for a double-double. Malik Monk added 18 points off the bench while Devin Carter had 13 points, five rebounds and three assists.

For the Raptors, RJ Barrett and Collin Murray-Boyles had 20 points each, with the former also producing five rebounds and six assists. Scottie Barnes finished with a double-double of 14 points and 10 assists while Sandro Mamukelashvili added 17 off the bench.

The Kings’ slow start also came alongside a much better shooting night for Toronto. They went at 54.5% from the field and more than 39% from the three-point zone, compared to Sacramento 45.7% overall efficiency and 36.4% conversion from beyond the arc.

However, the Raptors suffered due to their free-throw percentage as they converted just 22 of their 32 free throws, compared to Sacramento's 27/29.