San Antonio Spurs shooting guard DeMar DeRozan is glad he bought into the Spurs' way and sat out a few games earlier in the season when his knee was bothering him.

DeRozan sat out five games in January during a 10-game stretch to get some rest.

At first, the All-Star guard wasn't sure about sitting out because he prides himself on playing through pain, but DeRozan says the time off is paying off in a big way for him.

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“My knee was bothering me,” DeRozan said, via Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News. “Really, it was the first time since I had a major injury early in my career that something was bothering me to where it was kind of slowing me down to where I was forced to take a couple of games off.

“Usually, I try to fight through or force my way through whatever nicks and pains I have. But it was just a smart idea when I missed those games to get myself back together. It’s paying off.”

DeMar DeRozan is averaging 22.1 points over his last 10 games and is back to his explosive self.

The Spurs are 37-29 on the season, which is good for seventh place in the Western Conference standings. San Antonio is going to go as far as DeRozan can take them in the postseason.