Hornets at Raptors
The Toronto Raptors and the Charlotte Hornets are feeling differently about themselves heading into January, with the Raptors riding a high. Toronto will try to pick up its fourth win in the last five games when it hosts the Hornets on Friday.
The Raptors kicked off their three-game homestand by gutting out a 94-91 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday, continuing a trend in which they win each time they manage to hold the opponent under 100 points. Toronto is 13-0 when holding opponents under 100 points and 0-7 when allowing 100 or more in the last 20 games. The Hornets are not nearly as consistent on the defensive end and allowed the Los Angeles Clippers to shoot 52.1 percent from the field in a 122-117 loss on Wednesday. “Lack of communication,” Charlotte guard Kemba Walker told reporters of the defensive struggles. “We just have to have the right mindset and talk to each other so we can get stops.”
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FSN Southeast (Charlotte), TSN2 (Toronto)
ABOUT THE HORNETS (17-14): Coach Steve Clifford is looking for a spark from his team and a level of consistency it has had a difficult time achieving during a 3-6 stretch over the last nine games. “The first thing when we met during the season, I told them I thought we could be very good,” Clifford told reporters. “But everybody has to confront facts and realize that they have to have career years. They all have to do things they’ve never done before. That was good early in the year. We’re not sustaining that.” Things did not get any easier on Wednesday, when an MRI exam revealed that center Al Jefferson would need knee surgery and be out six weeks.
ABOUT THE RAPTORS (20-13): Toronto’s bench got a boost with the return of center Bismack Biyombo, who vacated his starting spot with Jonas Valanciunas healthy. Biyombo collected 12 points and 12 rebounds in the win over the Wizards and provided a defensive presence the unit lacked with Valanciunas sidelined. Biyombo, a 23-year-old former first-round pick who averages 4.5 points and 6.4 rebounds in 317 career games, is up to 6.6 points on 51.8 percent shooting and 11.6 rebounds in the last 19 contests.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Raptors G DeMar DeRozan is averaging 27.4 points over the last seven games.
2. Hornets G Jeremy Lin (ankle) and C Spencer Hawes (back) are both day-to-day.
3. Charlotte has taken seven of the last nine meetings, including a 109-99 overtime triumph at home on Dec. 17.