Delon Wright has spent the majority of the NBA career playing for the Toronto Raptors.

So, when the Raptors traded him to the Memphis Grizzlies late last season – thus preventing Wright from becoming a member of the championship the Raptors won last June – that’s something that really sticks in his memory bank.

Therefore, when the Mavs met the Raptors on Saturday night at American Airlines Center, needless to say Wright was ready to put his best foot forward. And then some.

“It’s a lot more motivation (playing the Raptors), just because friends and fans back home are watching in Toronto,” Wright said. “They supported me over my career, so you want to play good in front of those people, too.”

Wright certainly played good Saturday night as his 15 points, four rebounds and game-high three steals off the bench helped the Mavs snap a two-game losing streak and defeat the Raptors, 110-102, before a sellout crowd of 19,926. And the fact that Wright was able to accomplish all of this in only 19 workmanlike minutes was all the more impressive.

“It was fun,” said Wright, who was 6-of-8 from the field. “I know (the Raptors) knew some of the things I want to do, so you’ve just got to kind of counter it and just have fun with it.”

Toronto made Wright the 20th overall pick of the 2015 NBA Draft. He stayed with the Raptors until they traded him to the Grizzlies on Feb. 7.

From there, Wright was involved in a second trade within five months when on July 8 the Mavs acquired him from the Grizzlies for a pair of second-round draft pick and the draft rights to Satnam Singh.

“He played well,” Toronto guard Fred VanVleet said of Wright. “It was good to see him.

“He’s a big part of what we did here. Especially for us young guys, he was huge to what we accomplished on the court, so good to see him.”

Coach Rick Carlisle had some fun after the game saying – tongue planted firmly in cheek – that Wright didn’t get the type of reception leading up to the game that forward Kristaps Porzingis received when he played his former New York Knicks’ squad.

“He certainly didn’t get the buildup that the New York game got,” Carlisle said. “But you’re still playing your former team.

“He did a terrific job. He was real aggressive. I liked his game.”

“I wish he didn’t have such a good game against us, but I’m just happy to see him playing,” VanVleet said. “Obviously, I wish him nothing but the best.”

Teams used to fly commercial: Before NBA teams started chartering their own flights in the mid-1990’s, they actually went to the airport to take a commercial flight in order to get from city to city.

And for Rick Carlisle, who was playing for Boston, New York and New Jersey at the time, he saw that as a time for the players to get to know each other better.

“In those days the thing that was a big bonding thing was flying commercial and all the time spent hanging out in airports and trying to kind of lay low over to the side together,” Carlisle said. “It was time spent together in a different kind of setting.

“I felt that in those days it was one of the things that brought teams together. It was unique, and we don’t have today. And I’m not lobbying for it.”

Today, teams fly on fancy charter flights that are hooked up with lots of amenities, including a lot of leg room.

“I flew coach a lot as a rookie,” Carlisle said. “I got bumped a lot.

“A lot of times there were only six or eight seats up there (in first class), so it was always by seniority. That was a big part of the culture league-wide, and it’s just something that doesn’t exist quite the same today.”

Briefly: Counting games against Toronto, San Antonio, Golden State and Cleveland, the four teams the Mavs are playing on this homestand combined to capture the last six NBA titles. “This is a tough homestand,” coach Rick Carlisle said before Saturday’s game. “There’s an opportunity certainly to be home, but we’ve had some hard games lately. I don’t know exactly what it will tell me or us, but the opportunity to compete at home in front of your fans on a Saturday night is a big deal, it’s a big opportunity.”. . . On the looks at the basket guard Seth Curry are getting – or not getting – coach Rick Carlisle said before Saturday’s game: “I’d like him to get more better shots, of course. They’re guarding him (closely) because he’s a great shooter. We’re working on getting everybody better shots.” Curry made 5-of-7 shots against Toronto and finished with 15 points, and season highs in rebounds (six) and assists (five).

Twitter: @DwainPrice

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