LAKE BUENA VISTA (AP) — Fred VanVleet made another case for a big payday later this year.
VanVleet scored a career-high 36 points and made seven 3-pointers, and the defending NBA champion Toronto Raptors added to their strong restart with a 107-103 victory over the Miami Heat on Monday.
VanVleet, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent after the season, finished 7 of 12 from beyond the 3-point arc and was a perfect 13 of 13 from the foul line, topping his 34-point total against the Pelicans last December.
The 26-year-old VanVleet is in the midst of a two-year, $18 million contract, but figures to cash in this coming offseason after helping the Raptors win a championship and then following that up with another strong season in which he’s averaging 17.