The Associated Press
CHARLOTTE, N.C.–The streaking Toronto Raptors more or less had their fourth-straight win locked up by halftime.
And that was before DeMar DeRozan got hot.
DeRozan scored 18 of his 28 points after halftime as the Raptors overcame a slow start to beat the Charlotte Hornets 129-111 last night.
Toronto has won 10-of-11 and is in third place in the Eastern Conference.
“We kept it going,” Raptors’ guard Kyle Lowry said. “It’s really good when we get nights like this.”
Serge Ibaka led the charge in the first half when he scored 15 of his 24 points.
Rookie OG Anunoby shot 6-of-7 from beyond the arc and scored a career-high 20 points.
“I’m getting more comfortable every game,” Anunoby noted.
Raptors’ coach Dwane Casey did not view Anunoby as a three-point threat coming out of Indiana.
“We saw the defence, the toughness, the physicality,” he noted.
“But the three-point shooting is something he’s worked his behind off and has really, really improved.”
Anunoby is shooting 43 percent from beyond the arc–best on the team.
Anunoby’s long-range shooting led a larger scale Raptors’ attack. Toronto connected on 8-of-13 three-pointers in the first half and finished 16-of-33.
“You’re not going to have nights like this all the time, but it looks really good when you have nights like this,” Lowry said.
The Hornets got a career-best 32 points from reserve Jeremy Lamb but lost for the 11th time in 13 games.
“My teammates put me in great positions to score, and I was able to knock shots down,” said Lamb.
“But we were down 20 the whole game so it doesn’t really mean much,” he added.
“We’ve just got to play better.”
Charlotte closed the first quarter on a 14-2 run to lead 26-22 but the game turned with a 12-2 Toronto run early in the second.
The Raptors scored 41 points in the second period en route to a 63-47 halftime lead.
Toronto had 10 assists and hit 15-of-23 shots in that span, including 6-of-9 three-pointers.
Dwight Howard and Kemba Walker scored 15 points apiece, with Howard adding nine rebounds.
The loss was Charlotte’s worst since a 106-86 setback against San Antonio back on Nov. 25.
The Raptors next visit Philadelphia tonight.
Elsewhere in the NBA, Minnesota beat Denver 112-104, Indiana downed Atlanta 105-95, Miami nipped Boston 90-89, Sacramento upended Brooklyn 104-99, Chicago bounced Orlando 112-94, and the L.A. Lakers topped Houston 122-116.
Oklahoma City dumped Utah 107-79, Dallas beat Detroit 110-93, San Antonio shaded Portland 93-91, Golden State downed Memphis 97-84, and the L.A. Clippers go past Phoenix 108-95.
