A quick up-and-back to Canada awaits the Charlotte Hornets before the start of their four-game homestand as they’ll look to cool off the red-hot Toronto Raptors beginning tonight at 7:30 PM EST at Scotiabank Arena.
Thanks to a pair of bounce-back performances from Terry Rozier (26 points) and Devonte’ Graham (21 points), the Hornets withstood a late Knicks rally and picked up a 107-101 home win on Wednesday night. For Graham particularly, the outing was much welcomed after he shot 1-of-17 from the field in his first two post-All-Star Break appearances, a cold stretch that prompted a rest day on Tuesday night in Indiana.
“It felt great. Definitely haven’t been playing up to how I should be,” the second-year guard said after the victory. “Just trying to get back mentally, get a little rest, recover, extra treatment, cold tub, steam room, all of that. Trying to get my mind off everything and just come back and compete at a high level.”
Charlotte led Toronto by 10 with under six minutes remaining in their most recent meeting on Jan. 6 at Spectrum Center before the latter rallied to win in overtime, 112-110. Rozier (27) and Miles Bridges (26) led the team in scoring and PJ Washington double-doubled with 12 points and a career-high 12 rebounds. Serge Ibaka and undrafted rookie Terence Davis both had 23 points for the Raptors, who were missing Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet and Marc Gasol.
The reigning champs have won nine of their last 10 at home (only loss coming to Milwaukee) and are 17-2 since Jan. 15. Siakam (22.2 PPG), Ibaka (17.1 PPG and 7.1 RPG), Kyle Lowry (17.0 PPG and 7.5 APG) and VanVleet (16.9 PPG and 1.9 SPG) are leading a balanced Raptors squad that ranks third in the NBA in offensive rating (115.9) and second in defensive rating (105.6) over this 19-game span.
In what was expected to be a down year following the offseason departure of last year’s Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard, the 42-16 Raptors have played exceptionally well this year and seen minimal drop-off in results. Picking up a win will be a tough task for the Hornets, but keeping the turnovers down (averaging 18.0 in two games vs. Toronto) and crashing the glass (allowing an average of 15.0 offensive rebounds in the season series) will be imperative in order to pick up a fourth win in five road appearances.
Game Notes: Toronto leads the season series, 2-0. The Hornets have dropped four of their last five road games against the Raptors (lone win: 115-114 on March 24, 2019)… Toronto is just 5-5 this season with exactly two days off between games (lost at home to Milwaukee on Tuesday night).