By Sam Perley, hornets.com
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The Result
Gerald Henderson and Kemba Walker combined for 60 points as the visiting Hornets took down the Raptors, 103-95, on Jan. 8 in Toronto. Henderson finished with a season-high 31 points and helped spark a big second half for the Hornets, who matched their longest winning streak of the season at four games. Kyle Lowry paved the way for Toronto finishing with 24 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
Turning Points
Down two at halftime, the Hornets came out of the break on a 14-1 run to take a lead which stretched to as much as 15 with 3:20 remaining in the third quarter. Toronto would battle back to cut the Hornets advantage to 87-84 with just under five minutes remaining in the game. Charlotte would never surrender the lead though as Gerald Henderson and Kemba Walker combined for 15 points in the final 4:26 to seal the 103-95 road win for the Hornets.
Inside the Box Score
Kemba Walker tallied 29 points, seven rebounds and eight assists for Charlotte…Michael Kidd-Gilchrist recorded his fourth double-double in the last five games finishing with 10 points and 12 rebounds…Marvin Williams put up his highest scoring performance since Oct. 29, scoring 13 points and pulling down nine rebounds starting in place of Cody Zeller… Kyle Lowry scored 24 points, connecting on 7-of-22 field goal attempts…Jonas Valanciunas was the only other Toronto starter to score in double figures, finishing with 10 points and six rebounds…Louis Williams (15) and Greivis Vasquez (11) also hit double-digit points for the Raptors…Charlotte connected on 52.7 of their field goals (38-of-72), including 25.0 percent of 3-point attempts (4-of-16)…The Raptors turned the ball over 14 times compared to the Hornets who turned it over only eight times. Coming into tonight’s game, Charlotte was ranked first in the NBA in fewest turnovers per game with 11.1 while Toronto was ranked second with 11.5.
Hornets Player of the Game
Gerald Henderson stepped up big for the Hornets, notching a season-high 31 points on 13-of-20 shooting while tacking on another five rebounds and three assists for Charlotte. Henderson is averaging 17.3 points during the Hornets four-game win streak.
Raptors Player of the Game
Kyle Lowry continues to solidify himself as one of the better point guards in the Eastern Conference, leading the Raptors with 24 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Lowry has now scored 22 or more points in seven of his last eight games.
Game Notes
Kemba Walker came up one point short of extending his three-game streak of scoring 30-or-more points. Glen Rice was the last Hornets player to score 30-or-more points in four-straight games which he accomplished from Jan. 28 to Feb. 2, 1997…Charlotte has won five straight against Toronto…Toronto’s Tyler Hansbrough hit his first career 3-pointer with 10:10 remaining in the second quarter…Cody Zeller (shoulder), P.J. Hairston (illness), Al Jefferson (groin), Lance Stephenson (pelvis) and Jannero Pargo (back) did not play for Charlotte…DeMar DeRozan also remained sidelined for Toronto (groin) and has not played since Nov. 28…Kemba Walker and head coach Steve Clifford both received technical fouls in the first half for Charlotte.
Next Up
The Hornets travel to New York City to take on the Knicks at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 10. The game can be seen on FOX SportsSouth or heard on WFNZ or on the official Charlotte Hornets mobile app.