Raptors at Hornets
Kemba Walker and the Charlotte Hornets are about to run into another player and team as hot as they are at the moment. Walker will try to lead the Hornets to their fifth straight win when they host DeMar DeRozan and the Toronto Raptors on Friday.
Walker went 1-of-7 from 3-point range on Wednesday but still managed to put up 21 points, six assists, five rebounds and four steals in a 104-98 win over the Utah Jazz. "We're playing really well right now," Walker said in a TV interview after the game. "We're sticking to our game plan. Our coaching staff, they do an excellent job each and every night to get us prepared to play these games and it's working out for us." That Charlotte coaching staff will need to come up with a game plan to stop DeRozan, who leads the league in scoring at 34.1 points and poured in 37 in a 112-102 win at Oklahoma City to kick off the two-game road trip on Wednesday. DeRozan failed to score 30 or more points for the first time this season in a loss to Sacramento on Sunday but bounced back by going 13-of-22 from the field and 11-of-15 from the line at the Thunder.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Sportsnet One (Toronto), FSN Southeast (Charlotte)
ABOUT THE RAPTORS (5-2): Point guard Kyle Lowry's shooting stroke is still missing in action, and he went 6-of-20 from the floor on Wednesday to drop to 29.4 percent from the field in the last three games. Lowry made up for some of the struggles by handing out 13 assists and knocking down five of the team's 11 3-pointers. “This is the start of something, hopefully," Lowry told reporters. "We’re not going to get too excited about one good shooting game from three, but we shot it well from three tonight, 42 percent. Everybody made shots, I think it could be the start of something, but we’re not going to live or die by the jump shot. We’re going to play basketball and rely on our defense.”
ABOUT THE HORNETS (6-1): Charlotte can rely on its defense as well and held six of its seven opponents to 100 or fewer points, winning all six of those games. Walker and coach Steve Clifford were quick to point to the play of the bench as a key on Wednesday, and three reserves scored in double figures as Spencer Hawes, Frank Kaminsky and Marco Belinelli combined to shoot 16-of-24 from the field. “We talk about coming off the bench and providing energy," Kaminsky told the team's website. "We know it all starts with our defense and our talk and let it leads to offense. When (the bench) comes in, get stops, push the ball and score, it looks like we’re doing a great job. It’s been so much fun so far this season."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Raptors C Jonas Valanciunas (knee) missed the last two games and remains day-to-day.
2. Hornets C Roy Hibbert (knee) sat out the last five games but could return Friday.
3. Toronto took two of the three meetings last season, with the lone loss coming 109-99 in overtime at Charlotte on Dec. 17.