Raptors at Hornets
The Toronto Raptors look to get back on the winning track when they begin a four-game road trip against the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday. The Raptors have dropped two in a row, including a 117-116 overtime loss to the Boston Celtics, to fall one game behind the Chicago Bulls in the race for the third seed in the Eastern Conference.
Toronto has lost six straight meetings in the series and 10 of its last 13 road games overall as it hopes to beat the Hornets for the first time since Mar. 15, 2013. Charlotte's postseason hopes are on life support following a narrow 105-100 loss to the Miami Heat on Tuesday. The injury-riddled Hornets have dropped six of their last nine to fall two games behind the Celtics with five remaining in the race for the eighth and final playoff spot in the East. Charlotte returns home where it has won three of its last four contests, including two by double digits, and looks to stay in contention for a playoff berth by continuing its recent dominance of the Raptors.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Sportsnet 360 (Toronto), SportSouth (Charlotte)
ABOUT THE RAPTORS (45-32): DeMar DeRozan poured in a game-high 38 points, including 18 in the fourth quarter and overtime, while Lou Williams added 27 points off the bench in the loss to Boston. All-Star guard Kyle Lowry has missed the last six games with back spasms while Amir Johnson sat out the loss to the Celtics with a sprained right ankle. "With Kyle it's still sore and he's probably not going to go tomorrow," Toronto coach Dwane Casey told reporters. "Amir is moving better, getting better but I don't know where he is as far as putting a timetable on it."
ABOUT THE HORNETS (33-44): Gerald Henderson led the way with 29 points and Kemba Walker added 17 on 7-of-20 shooting in the loss to the Heat. Bismack Biyombo collected 12 points and 12 rebounds despite playing with a broken nose suffered in the win over the 76ers on Saturday. Al Jefferson has missed the last two games with inflammation in his knee and is expected to be sidelined until the weekend while Michael-Kidd Gilchrist (ankle) and Cody Zeller (shoulder) have sat out six and 10 games respectively, and are likely done for the season.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Hornets have won eight straight home games in the series.
2. The Raptors have dropped their last two games by a combined six points.
3. DeRozan is averaging 31 points in his last four outings.