[Johnson] Asked DeMar DeRozan if he can put into words his bond with Kyle Lowry. He said he couldn't. Then he did, eloquently: “If my mom had another son, it'd be Kyle. If his mom had another son, it'd be me. That's as simple as I can put it. That's how close we are. That's what it is to me.”

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Asked DeMar DeRozan if he can put into words his bond with Kyle Lowry. He said he couldn't. Then he did, eloquently: “If my mom had another son, it'd be Kyle. If his mom had another son, it'd be me. That's as simple as I can put it. That's how close we are. That's what it is to me.”

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Indeed, DeRozan and Lowry forged a fraternal connection during their six shared seasons in Toronto, which featured four All-Star appearances apiece, 297 regular-season wins, and that franchise’s first Eastern Conference finals berth.

The trade that sent DeRozan to the Spurs as part of the package for Kawhi Leonard made them adversaries on the court, but never disturbed their bond off of it. Lowry says he and DeRozan still talk every day. The love between them was apparent before Saturday’s face-off at the United Center, where the two shared an embrace and several laughs while teammates took pregame warmups around them.

“He’s in a great place. He’s leading these young guys how to win and close out games,” Lowry said of DeRozan, “and he’s showing the world that he’s still really, really talented at basketball.

“As a friend I’m always happy to see his success, but I’m always even happier when we beat him.”

That Lowry did on Saturday. The two meet on the court again Dec. 11 in Miami, but best believe they’ll be in contact sooner than that.