There may have been some questions on Kawhi Leonard's absence for most of last season, along with his apparent unhappiness with the trade to the Toronto Raptors, but it has been so far, so good for all parties involved. That trend continued as the Raptors improved to 4-0 on the season with a 127-106 rout of the Charlotte Hornets on Monday night. Leonard scored 22 points to lead the Raptors for a fourth straight game to begin the year, while Kyle Lowry had 16 points and a season-high 14 assists.
The Raptors were able to spread the ball around well at the Air Canada Centre, with Jonas Valanciunas scoring 17 points, Danny Green adding 16, and Serge Ibaka finishing with 15 on the night. The win was the Raptors' fifth straight over the Hornets, and ninth in the past 11 meetings. They are the first team to reach four wins in the NBA this season, although, the Denver Nuggets can match that when they play the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday night.
Three of their four wins this season have come on their home floor, with their lone road win coming against the Washington Wizards over the weekend. The Hornets' best chance to pull off the upset was the three-point ball, which they came in with an NBA-best 49 three-pointers. Although, they struggled from beyond the arc on this day, going 9-for-28 from downtown, including 0-for-5 from there in the first quarter. On the other end, the Raptors made a season-high 15 three-pointers on 39 attempts, which was also a season-high total.
Kemba Walker led the Hornets with 26 points, while Jeremy Lamb had 16 in Charlotte's first road loss of the season. This was already their third road game, as they earned wins in Orlando against the Magic and Miami against the Heat already this season. They fell to 2-2 on the young season and have another road game against the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night. The Raptors will take their perfect record in to a home contest against the Minnesota Timberwolves that same night.
The Raptors were able to spread the ball around well at the Air Canada Centre, with Jonas Valanciunas scoring 17 points, Danny Green adding 16, and Serge Ibaka finishing with 15 on the night. The win was the Raptors' fifth straight over the Hornets, and ninth in the past 11 meetings. They are the first team to reach four wins in the NBA this season, although, the Denver Nuggets can match that when they play the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday night.
Three of their four wins this season have come on their home floor, with their lone road win coming against the Washington Wizards over the weekend. The Hornets' best chance to pull off the upset was the three-point ball, which they came in with an NBA-best 49 three-pointers. Although, they struggled from beyond the arc on this day, going 9-for-28 from downtown, including 0-for-5 from there in the first quarter. On the other end, the Raptors made a season-high 15 three-pointers on 39 attempts, which was also a season-high total.
Kemba Walker led the Hornets with 26 points, while Jeremy Lamb had 16 in Charlotte's first road loss of the season. This was already their third road game, as they earned wins in Orlando against the Magic and Miami against the Heat already this season. They fell to 2-2 on the young season and have another road game against the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night. The Raptors will take their perfect record in to a home contest against the Minnesota Timberwolves that same night.
