Philadelphia's Lowry playing 'host' during all-star weekend in Toronto

TORONTO - The first time is always special, but this one is at home.

Those are Kyle Lowry's sentiments about participating in his second straight NBA All-Star Game. Like last season, the Toronto Raptors point guard was voted as an Eastern Conference starter for the game Sunday night here at the Air Canada Centre.

"Now, it's home to me," said Lowry, a Philadelphia native who spent the last four seasons of his 10-year career in Toronto.

"It's my hometown, where I play every night," he added. "It's an excitement and a buzz around the city. It's a buzz around me and my family and my friends. There's especially a buzz for me and [fellow Raptors all-star] DeMar [DeRozan].

"So it's a special time."

That was obvious during Friday's media availability in a ballroom at the Sheraton Centre Toronto.

Seated behind a table in the corner of the room, Lowry located DeRozan about 60 feet away.

"DeRo. What's up, dawg?," Lowry, a former Cardinal Dougherty and Villanova standout, yelled into the microphone. "You all right, dawg? DeMar DeRozan over there, the official host of the 2016 All-Star Game. Shout me out, dawg, Shout me out."

Appearing embarrassed by the attention, DeRozan looked as if he wanted to hide underneath his table for the remainder of the session.

But he and Lowry do have a lot to be proud of. The guards will be the first Raptors teammates to appear in an All-Star Game together. And this historic moment occurred during Lowry's career season.

The 6-foot, 205-pounder is averaging career bests in points (21.0 per game), rebounds (4.9), and steals (2.2). He's also playing a career-high 36.8 minutes and shooting a career-best 39.2 percent on three-pointers.

"It's the two leaders of our team. We put our blood, sweat, and tears into the organization and what we do," Lowry said of sharing this moment with DeRozan. "It's been good. It's just been a good season so far."

At 35-17, the Raptors have the second-best record in the Eastern Conference behind the Cleveland Cavaliers (38-14). Toronto is 8-1 against Atlantic Division foes. But this weekend, Lowry was a sort-of host to his normal conference and division foes in the All-Star Game.

"I'm trying to stay low-key and not trying to go ripping and running all day," he said. "When people call me and ask me where to go and where to eat dinner, I give them a few tips here and there."

What are the tips?

"Stay out of traffic," he said with a laugh. "You know, go to a couple of restaurants that I like. I help make a call or two. Make sure they get a good table and make sure people take care of them."