Charlotte Hornets escape Toronto Raptors in overtime on guard play

The revenge of Bismack Biyombo. Well, almost.

Ex-Charlotte Hornets center Biyombo grabbed a career-high 18 rebounds versus his old team, plus a career-high seven blocks. But point guard Kemba Walker twice beat him off the dribble for layups to preserve a 109-99 overtime victory over the Toronto Raptors.

Walker (27 points) made it a six-point lead with two free throws with 30.7 seconds left.

The Hornets got a huge night from guard Jeremy Lin, making just his second start with Charlotte. Lin finished with a season-high 35 points, three short of tying his career high.

Biyombo left for Toronto after the Hornets chose not to extend him a qualifying offer to restrict his free agency in July.

The Raptors got 31 points from DeMar DeRozan.

The Hornets improved to 15-10 while the Raptors fell to 16-11.

Three who mattered

Lin: His 8-of-9 shooting in the first half set the tone for this game.

DeRozan: No matter which Hornet guarded him, he seemed to score with ease.

Walker: So many creative drives either for layups or feeds.

Observations

▪  Hornets shooting guard Nic Batum missed the Raptors game with an illness. Batum grew ill Wednesday in the third quarter of the loss to the Orlando Magic and spent the rest of the game in the locker room.

▪  In Batum’s absence, coach Steve Clifford started Lin. This was Lin’s second start as a Hornet.

▪  Clifford said pre-game that while his team had “no intensity, no purpose” in Orlando, that is not typical of the players’ approach this season. Clifford said every NBA coach has to accept that will happen occasionally in an 82-game schedule.

▪  Jeremy Lamb has thrived with the Hornets after three seasons in a very limited role in Oklahoma City. Toronto coach Dwane Casey on Lamb: “Sometimes one man’s junk is another man’s diamond.”.

▪  At the Raptors’ morning shootaround, Biyombo expressed appreciation for the time he spent in Charlotte: “I’m very thankful and blessed my first four years were with this team.”

Worth mentioning

▪  In the seven games prior to Thursday Hornets rookie Frank Kaminsky averaged 8.1 points on 50 percent shooting from the field and 41 percent from 3-point range.

▪  Biyombo drew a technical foul for complaining about a loose-ball foul. He also finger-wagged after two first-half blocks.

▪  After a 16-turnover game in Orlando the Hornets lost the ball just twice in the first half Thursday.

Report card

B OFFENSE: Lin and Walker carried the scoring on a night when Batum and Al Jefferson were unavailable.

B DEFENSE: DeRozan went off and Lowry had a big fourth quarter, but no other Raptor particularly hurt the Hornets.

B+ COACHING: Steve Clifford scolded them Wednesday for lack of focus, then let it go and moved forward.

This story was originally published December 17, 2015 at 9:54 PM with the headline "Charlotte Hornets escape Toronto Raptors in overtime on guard play."