Siakam, Raptors beat Hornets 116-101 for 6th straight win

CHARLOTTE, NC (AP) – The Toronto Raptors continue to roll, and the Charlotte Hornets continue to flounder.

Pascal Siakam had 24 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists, and the Raptors beat the Hornets 116-101 on Monday night for a sixth straight win.

Gary Trent Jr scored 24 points, and Fred VanVleet and OG Anunoby each had 20 points for the Raptors, who have started eight out of nine games on the road with a convincing win. Scottie Barnes added 15 points as the Raptors starters took all but 13.

Siakam, the NBA’s Eastern Conference Player of the Week, scored in the first half, scoring 6/9 from the floor to take 14 with 6 rebounds and 5 assists as the Raptors 23 points ahead.

“It’s been a tough couple of years, but I feel healthy right now,” Siakam said. “My shoulders are feeling better, my body is feeling good. So just physically and mentally in a good place. “

Miles Bridges scored 25 points to lead the Hornets, who had lost their fifth game in a row. Charlotte struggled with another poor offensive performance, shooting 41.1% from the field and 22.5% from three points.

LaMelo Ball, dubbed the substitute in the All-Star game hours before the game, finished with 15 points and 9 assists for the Hornets.

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Charlotte (28-27) fought back to cut her lead to three in the third quarter after receiving a big boost from Terry Rozier, who has 20 points, and PJ Washington. But the Hornet had run out of firepower when their poor outside firing ability caught up with them.

Hornets coach James Borrego said: “We had to start figuring out that rhythm in a confusing way. “The three-man ball is obviously dry, but that’s okay. It will come back to us. Until then, we have to find our offense through our defence. ”

The win put the Raptors (29-23) into sixth in the Eastern Conference, ahead of the faltering Brooklyn Nets, who have lost eight in a row.

Siakam is a big reason for the rise of the Raptors.

He said that he enjoyed playing some guard points because it gave him another understanding of the game and also helped him develop the rhythm. And recently, he brought in what trainer Nick Nurse calls “his signature spin.”

“Being there for a while seemed like no longer having to move to him,” Nurse said. “I think a lot of that now has to do with mindset, energy and distance on the floor.”

That included one in the second half when Siakam put Bridges off dribble and found himself in the basket in a flash with an easy, unbridled score.

“There were some games where I knew the spin would be, and some games that wouldn’t,” Siakam said.

Charlotte struggled throughout the length of the Raptors, turning to cut the ball more than nine times in the first half, leading to 14 points for Toronto.

HAYWARD BRAND ANKLE

The struggling Hornets, who are without Cody Martin and James Bouknight due to injury, lost Gordon Hayward in the game after he sprained his left ankle in the first half.

Hayward has struggled since he missed six games in COVID-19 protocol, taking just 3 of 23 shots from the field. However, coach James Borrego is counting on him to help a youth team out of a slump.

STATUS OF BOUKNIGHT

Bouknight was listed with a wrist sprain just two days after he got up and faced Borrego on the bench – and was then escorted into the locker room by an assistant coach. Borrego downplayed the pre-match incident, saying “we’re in a good place” with Bouknight.

STILL US

Toronto entered the game averaging 118 points in their five-game winning streak, and didn’t miss a beat against the Hornets. It marked the 10th consecutive game the Raptors scored at least 100 points.

CAT

Raptors: Shot 42.9% (15 of 35) from a 3-point range. … Only 19 out of 29 free throws were taken.

Hornets: Beats the Raptors 58-48 in paint color. … Kelly Oubre got 0 points 8 from long range, but got 17 points. … Lost 0-3 at home in their four matches.

NEXT

Raptors: In Oklahoma City on Wednesday night.

Hornets: Host the Bulls on Wednesday night.

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