Raptors 104, Hornets 94
TORONTO -- Guard DeMar DeRozan scored 23 points and the Toronto Raptors defeated the Charlotte Hornets 104-94 on Friday.
The Raptors overcame an eight-point disadvantage after three quarters to take command of the game in the fourth, when the Hornets scored their final points of the game with 4:45 to play in the final quarter.
Point guard Kyle Lowry added 18 points and dished out 11 assists for the Raptors (21-13), who have won two in a row.
Center Jonas Valanciunas grabbed 13 rebounds and scored 10 points while forwards DeMarre Carroll and Patrick Patterson added 14 points each.
Reserve center Bismack Biyombo nabbed 11 rebounds and scored six points for Toronto.
Guard Kemba Walker scored 18 points and forward Marvin Williams scored 17 for the Hornets (17-15), who have lost two in a row.
Center Cody Zeller added 15 points and nine rebounds for Charlotte, while guard Nicolas Batum had 14 points and center Frank Kaminsky chipped in 13 points.
DeRozan scored 12 points in the first quarter as the Raptors took a 29-28 lead. There were six lead changes in the quarter and the game was tied five times. Zeller led Charlotte with seven points.
Batum's 3-pointer gave Charlotte a 44-40 lead with 6:43 to play in the first half but the score was 55-55 at the intermission. There were six more lead changes in the second quarter, in which the score was tied 10 times. DeRozan had 19 half-time points. Williams, Batum and Kaminsky had nine points each in the half for the Hornets.
The Hornets scored the first seven points of the third quarter, five by Walker. The Raptors tied the game with 6:53 to play in the third on five straight points by Carroll. The Hornets took a nine-point lead on a pull-up jumper by Kaminsky with 1:03 left in the third.
The Hornets took an 82-74 lead into the fourth quarter.
Toronto scored the first eight points of the fourth, tying the game at 82 on Patterson's 3-pointer. Lowry's 3-pointer gave Toronto an 87-84 lead.
Forward Terrence Ross hit a 3-pointer with 6:15 to play and the Raptors led by six points.
Williams struck for two straight 3-pointers to tie the game at 94 with 4:45 to play.
Toronto regained the lead on a 3-pointer from Lowry. After a Charlotte miss, Carroll hit a 3 from the corner and the Raptors led 100-94 with 2:54 to play.
NOTES: Charlotte C Al Jefferson (right knee) underwent arthroscopic surgery on Thursday for a torn lateral meniscus. He is expected to miss six weeks. ... Hornets G Jeremy Lin (sprained right ankle) missed his second straight game on Friday and F/C Spencer Hawes (tight lower back) missed his fourth consecutive game. G Nicolas Batum (sprained right toe), a game-time decision, was able to start. ... Toronto recalled G Delon Wright on Friday from the Raptors 905 of the NBA D-League. Toronto F Anthony Bennett (sore lower back) and G Norman Powell were inactive on Friday. ... Charlotte beat Toronto 109-99 in overtime on Dec. 17 at Time Warner Cable Arena in the first meeting this season. ... Toronto C Bismack Biyombo was a first-round pick (seventh overall) in 2011 by Charlotte. ... The Raptors play their next game on Sunday when the Chicago Bulls visit Air Canada Centre. The Hornets are home to the Oklahoma Thunder on Saturday.