Raptors at Hawks
If the regular season ended right now, the Toronto Raptors would own the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference and would host the fifth-seeded Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the playoffs. The teams will give fans a glimpse of that possible first-round matchup when the Raptors visit the Hawks on Friday.
Toronto is trying to figure itself out after adding pieces to the frontcourt at the trade deadline and losing All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry to a wrist injury, and it may have started to solve some problems on the defensive end during a 94-87 win at New Orleans on Wednesday. The Raptors don't plan to get Lowry back until the end of the regular season but are 2-1 on their five-game road trip with stops remaining against the Hawks and the Miami Heat. Atlanta dropped three straight games against playoff contenders but bounced back on Wednesday by holding off the worst team in the NBA - the Brooklyn Nets - 110-105 at home. The Hawks have their own issues at point guard due to the mercurial nature of starter Dennis Schroder, but he stepped up with 31 points in Wednesday's triumph.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, Sportsnet 2 (Toronto), FSN Southeast (Atlanta)
ABOUT THE RAPTORS (38-26): Starting center Jonas Valanciunas was becoming a forgotten man in Toronto's new frontcourt rotation until he broke out for 25 points and 13 rebounds on Wednesday. Valanciunas did not play in the fourth quarter of any of the previous seven games but was the Raptors' go-to player down the stretch in the win. "I’m ready every night," Valanciunas told reporters after getting the better of Pelicans star DeMarcus Cousins. "I’m waiting for that chance. Give me a chance, and I’m going to go and fight hard."
ABOUT THE HAWKS (35-29): Schroder was benched in the second half of Monday's 119-111 loss to the Golden State Warriors for arguing with center Dwight Howard in the middle of a play but had long talks with both coach Mike Budenholzer and All-Star forward Paul Millsap after the game. Schroder's play was incident-free on Wednesday, when he added five assists and three steals to his 31 points to lead the way. Millsap added 24 points in the win and is enjoying a season-best string of four straight games scoring 20 or more.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Howard is averaging 15.7 rebounds over the last three games.
2. Raptors SF DeMarre Carroll (ankle) sat out Wednesday and is day-to-day.
3. The teams split the first two meetings, with Atlanta earning a 125-121 win at Toronto on Dec. 16 in the most recent matchup.