NBA: Surging Raptors deal Hornets blowout home loss
Scottie Barnes #4 and Pascal Siakam #43 of the Toronto Raptors celebrate against the New York Knicks during the second half of their basketball game at the Scotiabank Arena on January 2, 2022 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Mark Blinch/Getty Images/AFP
Pascal Siakam and Gary Trent Jr. each scored 24 points as the Toronto Raptors fended off the host Charlotte Hornets for a 116-101 victory on Monday night.
Siakam fell two assists shy of a triple-double, adding 11 rebounds and eight assists as Toronto recorded its sixth straight win, matching its season high.
Fred VanVleet and OG Anunoby each racked up 20 points as the Raptors rode their offense to the victory. The Raptors made 15 baskets from the 3-point range as part of 48.8 percent shooting overall from the field. Scottie Barnes added 15 points and eight rebounds.
🚨 OG OH MY 🚨 pic.twitter.com/NoJYzjzqQh
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) February 8, 2022
Miles Bridges had 25 points for the Hornets, who have lost five games in a row, matching the team’s longest skid of the season. That includes three home outings across a four-night period.
Terry Rozier added 20 points, Kelly Oubre Jr. racked up 17 points off the bench while LaMelo Ball and P.J. Washington both contributed 15 points for Charlotte.
The Raptors led 56-41 at halftime after a chunk of their 23-point lead earlier in the second quarter vanished. Charlotte trimmed the gap to 80-75 by the end of the third quarter.
Anunoby scored four points in a row to help give the Raptors some more separation in the fourth quarter, when they outscored the Hornets 36-26.
VanVleet drained a 3-pointer to stretch the margin to 92-80 and countered Bridges’ trey with another as Toronto stayed in control.
.@gtrentjr does it AGAIN 😤 pic.twitter.com/GyxgMqZdjR
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) February 8, 2022
Freddy ALL-STAR 🌟 pic.twitter.com/WZbD6hwQV6
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) February 8, 2022
It didn’t matter much that the Hornets scored 10 points in the last 2:03.
Siakam ended up 10-for-16 from the floor. VanVleet shot 6-for-11 from deep.
Charlotte was a horrid 9-for-40 on 3-point attempts as its shooting woes continued. Oubre went 0-for-8 from beyond the arc.
Toronto’s lead was at 52-29 lead late in the second quarter. But on the way to committing 18 turnovers, the advantage began to evaporate.
Hornets forward Gordon Hayward, in his third game back from a two-week absence, left in the first quarter with another injury. He had three points in just six minutes.
Earlier in the day, Ball was named to the All-Star Game to replace the injured Kevin Durant.
