Kemba Walker leads the way as Charlotte Hornets rout Toronto Raptors

The Charlotte Hornets were tired of all the questions about never beating one of the NBA Eastern Conferences’s best teams.

Friday, the Hornets provided an emphatic response, building a 30-point lead midway through the fourth quarter to beat the 28-15 Toronto Raptors 113-78 at Spectrum Center.

Hornets point guard Kemba Walker led the way with 32 points and eight assists. For much of this game, Walker personally had more assists than all the Raptors combined. Toronto finished with 10 assists.

Prior to Friday, the Hornets had a 0-7 record against the East’s top three teams, the Cleveland Cavaliers, Raptors and Boston Celtics.

Six Hornets reached double-figure scoring, with forward Frank Kaminsky coming off the bench for 16 points. The Raptors got 24 points from Kyle Lowry and 23 from DeMar DeRozan.

Three who mattered

Walker: This was his 30th game this season scoring 20 or more points.

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist: He played tough, smart defense on DeRozan, who is fifth in the NBA in scoring at 28.2 points per game. Kidd-Gilchrist also had double-figure rebounds.

DeRozan: Great players are productive even on an off night. DeRozan was.

Observations

▪  The Hornets and Raptors are two of the lowest-turnover teams in the NBA. Charlotte, Toronto and the Detroit Pistons are in a three-way tie, each team averaging 12 turnovers.

▪  Hornets forward Marvin Williams has now made at least one 3-pointer in his last 17 games.

▪  The Raptors couldn’t make shots for most of the first half. By halftime, they were 18-of-47 from the field.

▪  Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry was charged with a second-quarter technical foul. Lowry appeared to be upset for several minutes prior to that tech, after he was hit in the face.

▪  The Hornets gave up 10 Toronto fast-break points in the first half.

Worth mentioning

▪  Hornets guard-forward Jeremy Lamb missed his fourth game with an inflamed metatarsal. Coach Steve Clifford said Lamb hasn’t been able to do anything but some light shooting since the injury started.

▪  The Raptors played without power forwards Patrick Patterson (sore left knee) and Lucas Nogueira (concussion protocol).

▪  Raptors coach Dwane Casey says Hornets guard Kemba Walker is a worthy All-Star this season. Casey said he voted for Walker as an All-Star reserve last season.

Report card

B+ OFFENSE: Excellent ball-movement created plenty of wide-open shots.

A DEFENSE: The Raptors missed some shots they normally make, but the Hornets made them work for every point.

A COACHING: That’s 2-0 so far on a five-game home stand.

This story was originally published January 20, 2017 at 9:29 PM with the headline "Kemba Walker leads the way as Charlotte Hornets rout Toronto Raptors."