Norman Powell made six points-3 on the way to 24 points at team level, and the Toronto Raptors took second place over the Charlotte Hornets in as many games, 116-113, Saturday at Amalie Arena in Tampa , Florida.
Powell was one of four birds of prey who dropped three or more lead points with OG Anunoby, Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet. Toronto fired 21 of 49 from long range as a team compared to Charlotte’s 15 of 36, who came up with the Raptors ’55-to-24 edge in a mountain scoring to make the difference.
Chris Boucher scored 20 points for adding to the season at Powell’s top level as both empowered the Raptors pouring out of the stocks. Boucher scored his last two points at the free throw line with 3.4 seconds left to secure the win.
Lowry led Toronto’s start with 19 points, Anunoby added 18, and VanVleet courted a three-pointer, posting 15 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds.
Toronto almost lost the upper hand in the fourth quarter of Thursday’s win, a 12-point fourth-quarter result. Those offensive woes came in early Saturday, with the Raptors going nearly three minutes before scoring their first field goal.
Their 3-point shootout came alive, however, with the Raptors pushing the lead to as many as 12 points in the second quarter. But Terry Rozier dropped 3-pointers in the final 9.8 seconds of the half to cut the gap to two points, and remained a back-and-forth link for the entire second half.
Gordon Hayward, who missed Thursday ‘s matchup between the two teams with a hip injury, led Charlotte by 25 points. Rozier added up 24 points and put down six points-3, while Devonte ‘Graham – who finished with 20 points – made his fourth and final 3-points with 8.4 seconds left to drag the Hornets inside. one point before Boucher hit the issue.
Graham also brought out seven senior teams helping with the loss.
With the win, Toronto has the first streak (2) of the 2020-21 season. Saturday marked the second of four straight Raptors games in Tampa, where they will play their home tournaments this season due to COVID-19 travel restrictions in Canada.
–Field Media Level