The Toronto Raptors comfortably beat the shorthanded Charlotte Hornets by 20 points. With our 7th win in our last 10 games, the Raptors finally have a record of above .500 since December.
As we are only a week away from the play-in tournament, every win is crucial no matter who our opponent is. The Trae Young-less Atlanta Hawks beat the Chicago Bulls in a pivotal game for seeding in blowout fashion and we currently hold identical records with Atlanta.
Atlanta holds the tiebreaker so they are currently seeded 8th while we are 9th. The next three games which include playing Boston Celtics twice in a row and the Milwaukee Bucks to close the season will be important.
For now, let’s enjoy the performance the Raps put on last night.
Flashes of the Bench Mob
The bench scored a combined 55 points tonight, which is almost half of the Raptors total points. This includes two huge performances from Will Barton and Chris Boucher who both scored 20+ points each.
Barton lit up from beyond the arc and ended up with 6 threes made on 9 attempts. This was easily his best game as a Raptor so far.
Precious Achuiwa also scored 12 points, making it three players off the bench with points in the double-digits.
The starters
Pascal Siakam led the team in scoring and had a double-double of 22 points and 14 rebounds on 8/16 from the field. He was the only Raptor to play above 30 minutes last night.
Fred VanVleet had 5 assists in the first Q and was scoreless going into halftime. When it looked like the Hornets were about to catch us, VanVleet came scorching hot with 16 points in the third quarter to seal the game and sat out in the fourth quarter. To top it up, he also had 4 steals.
O.G. Anunoby’s hot streak continues, as he ferociously attacked the rim in all types of ways.
O.G. was cold from three but ended the night with 17 points and 5 assists. He had a great game.
Scottie Barnes had a rare off-game, where he went scoreless in 29 minutes of play. He will look to bounce back tonight against the Celtics. Last but not least, Jakob Poeltl was one rebound shy from a double-double in 21 minutes played.
Revenge tale of Svi Mykhailiuk
Svi Mykhailiuk scored a career-high of 26 points against his former team, the Raptors on Sunday and came back scorching hot last night. Svi had 17 points, 5 rebounds, and 7 assists on 7/14 shooting from the field.
Other notable Hornets who showed up last night are Nick Richards who had a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Bryce McGowens who had 20 points and 6 rebounds.
Next game: The Toronto Raptors will be playing the Boston Celtics tonight at 7:30 pm.
