(Toronto) Gary Trent had his best game of the season with 32 points as the Toronto Raptors defeated the Charlotte Hornets 125-113 on Tuesday.
Posted at 9:58 p.m.
Trent had 31 points Nov. 18 in Salt Lake City.
Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby had 24 points apiece for the Raptors, who were playing without Fred VanVleet with a knee injury.
Siakam added 12 assists and nine rebounds.
Chris Boucher had 12 points, Malachi Flynn 11 and Dalano Banton 10.
Banton signed three blocks for the Raptors, who will visit the Bulls on Wednesday.
Toronto (23-22) came within a game and a half of Charlotte, who sits in seventh place in the East.
The Raptors made 16 of 34 three-pointers.
Unlike their previous game against the Blazers, the Raptors excelled early in the game and after 12 minutes they were leading 39-27.
At the half, the score favored the local club 76-61.
Charlotte did better in the third quarter (and the Raptors fumbled) but once the lead was reduced to 80-75, Boucher hit the mark with a three-point shot.
The Montrealer also provided seven rebounds, two blocks and two steals.
VanVleet’s case will be assessed on a daily basis, coach Nick Nurse said.
VanVleet had missed only one game this season, and this on November 13 against the Pistons, bored in the groin.
Going into the game, VanVleet led the Raptors with 21.7 points per game this season.
He also leads the club with seven assists per game and a 39.3% success rate on three-pointers.
VanVleet averages 38.2 minutes per game, an NBA high.
Toronto also made up for the absences of Scottie Barnes (wrist) and Khem Birch (broken nose).
LaMelo Ball scored 25 points for the Hornets, who had won their last three road games.
Gordon Hayward missed a second game in a row, inconvenienced in the right foot.
He ranks fourth among his team with 17 points per game, on average.
