Charlotte Hornets vs. Toronto Raptors Pick & Prediction JANUARY 12th 2023
After making a season-best 20 3-pointers on Tuesday, the Toronto Raptors hope the hot shooting continues Thursday night as they go for a two-game sweep of the visiting Charlotte Hornets.
The 132-120 victory over Charlotte on Tuesday gave the Raptors two straight wins and a 2-2 record so far on a six-game homestand. They will be going for their first three-game winning streak of the season.
The 20-for-44 (45.5 percent) shooting from beyond the arc was encouraging for the Raptors, whose shooting has been inconsistent. They shot 45-for-91 (49.5 percent) from the field overall on Tuesday.
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"Listen, it's going to even itself out one way or another," said Fred VanVleet, who had 11 points and eight assists on Tuesday. "You never want to trend too far downward, but I thought the last couple of games we've been shooting the ball well, other than the Milwaukee game (a 104-101 overtime loss to the Bucks on Jan. 4). But just keep working the offense and try to create good shots, just more rhythm and energy to the offense and the way we're sharing the ball now, you expect some of those to go down at a higher clip."
Reserve Precious Achiuwa made a season-best three 3-pointers and scored 13 points. Toronto had a 40-18 advantage in bench scoring.
Pascal Siakam led Toronto with 28 points that included two 3-pointers. Gary Trent Jr. had four 3-pointers and 24 points.
Terry Rozier scored 33 points for Charlotte and LaMelo Ball added 24 points and a season-best 14 assists.
Charlotte shot 15-for-35 (42.9 percent) from 3-point range and 47-for-86 (54.7 percent) from the field overall.
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Toronto had the advantage in rebounding, 49-34 overall and 18-6 in offensive rebounds.
"You are not going to win on the road; you are not going to win at home playing like that," Hornets coach Steve Clifford said.
"Just (not) paying attention to details," Rozier said. "It's basically our story all year. ... Down 10 with five minutes to go is a winnable ball game. And we are just not paying attention to details and we are not staying solid on the defensive end."
The Hornets hope to respond in the rematch on Thursday.
"To me, I've kind of liked the schedule that the NBA is doing," said Mason Plumlee, who had 21 points and seven rebounds on Tuesday. "It's kind of a preview of the playoffs where you see the same team twice in a row, and it will give us a chance to show some growth, and some maturity and to respond."
The Raptors are 18-23 at the halfway point of their season.
"It's going to take some better individual play from a lot of guys," Raptors coach Nick Nurse said.
--Field Level Media
Charlotte vs. Toronto Recap JAN 16TH 2021
Jeremy Lamb's desperation 48-foot 3-pointer at the buzzer gave the visiting Charlotte Hornets a 115-114 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday.
After the Raptors trailed by 14 points less than a minute into the fourth quarter, Kawhi Leonard gave them the lead on a jumper with 45 seconds left, then made a block at the other end.
But the Hornets had one big play left in them, and they won their third straight game.
Kemba Walker scored 15 points and added 13 assists and eight rebounds for the Hornets, who were led in scoring by 20 from Dwayne Bacon. Miles Bridges finished with 16 points, Willy Hernangomez and Lamb had 13 each, and Devonte' Graham and Marvin Williams 10 points each.
Leonard had 28 points for Toronto, Pascal Siakam added 23, Marc Gasol had 17, Fred VanVleet 12, and Normal Powell and Serge Ibaka had 10 each.
The Raptors led by as many as 12 points in the first quarter, but the Hornets turned the tables and took a 12-point lead into the fourth quarter.
The lead reached 14 on Kaminsky's three-foot bank shot in the first minute of the fourth quarter.
The Raptors answered with a 7-0 run early in the fourth quarter to cut the Hornets' lead to 97-90 with 10:28 to play.
The Hornets regained the 12-point lead on a dunk by Malik Monk.
The Raptors drew back to within 109-102 with about seven minutes left on VanVleet's 3-pointer.
Leonard's cutting dunk reduced Charlotte's lead to three points with 5:25 to play. After a block by Siakam, Leonard hit a fadeaway jumper to cut the lead to one with just over four minutes left.
Leonard made two free throws to tie the game at 112-112 with 1:24 to play.
The Raptors led 32-24 after the first quarter, but the Hornets rallied to lead 58-57 at halftime.
Walker had 12 points and eight assists in the first half and Bridges had 13 points.
Siakam led Toronto with 13 first-half points and Leonard had 12.
Bacon hit a 3-pointer from the corner with 4:32 to play in the third quarter to give Charlotte an 83-74 lead.
After Lowry made a driving layup, the Hornets came back with another 3-pointer, this time by Bridges, and they led 86-76 with 3:08 left in the third.
Powell hit a 3-pointer and Ibaka banked in a hook shot to trim Charlotte's lead to four with 1:35 left in the third.
The Hornets, however, scored the final eight points of the third quarter capped by two free throws by Graham to take a 95-83 lead
--Field Level Media
- NBA
