Toronto Raptors (31-14) @ Atlanta Hawks (14-32)
When: Wednesday, January 24th, 7:30 P.M. ET
Where: Philips Arena
Broadcast info: SN1, TSN1050
LAST MEETING
The Raptors have won both of their previous meetings with the Hawks this season. Most recently, the team collected a 111-98 victory on the Air Canada Centre floor behind a 25-point effort from DeMar DeRozan and a 13-point, 11-rebound double-double from Jonas Valanciunas. Toronto got off to a strong start in the game, leading by eight after one and 15 at the halftime break. The Raptors continued building on their lead in the third and went into the final quarter with a 19-point advantage. Taurean Prince had a career-high 30 points in the loss for the Hawks.
LEADING INTO TONIGHT'S GAME
Injury report: For Toronto, the injury report is clear. For the Hawks, the injury report is TBD.
Ready to go: After a disappointing 115-109 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on the road on Jan. 20, the Raptors had a rare stretch of three days off in between games. Though the time to get some practice sessions in was appreciated, the team is eager to get back on the court and get back to business. This will be the third of four meetings with the Hawks this season.
Keep it moving: The Raptors are 25-7 this season when recording 20+ assists in a game. With 32 games already topping the 20-assist threshold, the team has nearly passed last season's record of 34 games with 20+ assists. Toronto's backcourt is averaging 11.7 of its 22.6 assists per game with Kyle Lowry leading the way (6.7 assists) while DeMar DeRozan is averaging a career high 5.0 assists.
EXTRA ASSISTS
Lowry heating up: The worst part of Toronto's loss to the Timberwolves was wasting a season-high 40-point effort from Kyle Lowry. In his fourth career 40-point game, Lowry was everywhere, doing all he could to try to get his team a win. He shot 14-for-25 from the floor, 6-for-10 from beyond the arc, and added five rebounds and five assists in 34 minutes.
L.A. bound: Kyle Lowry will be joining backcourt mate DeMar DeRozan in Los Angeles for All-Star Weekend in February. The NBA announced All-Star reserves on Tuesday night and Lowry was voted by coaches to appear in his fourth consecutive NBA All-Star Game. Lowry is averaging 17.0 points, 6.7 assists and a career-high 6.0 rebounds per game this season.
Familiar faces: Raptors 905 head coach Jerry Stackhouse played for the Hawks in 2011-12. Hawks guard Marco Belinelli played for the Raptors in 2009-10, while the Hawks originally acquired draft rights to Lucas Nogueira before trading his rights to Toronto in 2014.