By Sam Perley, hornets.com:
Result Despite the absence of their second-leading scorer, Nicolas Batum, the Hornets bounced back from a tough loss against the Magic to hold off the Toronto Raptors in overtime, 109-99, on Thursday, Dec. 17, in Charlotte, snapping a two-game skid. Along with the superb play of Jeremy Lin, who filled in for the ailing Batum, Charlotte avoided defeat with a stellar overtime performance against the visiting Raptors, who rallied from 16 points down to tie the game in the closing moments of the fourth quarter. Lin led the way with a season-high 35 points while DeMar DeRozan notched 31 points for Toronto in the loss.
Turning Points Trailing 72-56 with 4:15 remaining in the third quarter, Toronto began piecing together its comeback, which started by trimming the Hornets’ lead to just 12 by the end of the frame. Still down by 12 with 4:43 remaining in the fourth, the Raptors rolled off a 15-3 run, including five points in the final minute to send the game into overtime. Despite Toronto holding all the momentum, Charlotte came alive in extra time, getting three-point possessions from Lin, Kemba Walker and P.J. Hairston, which helped end any chance of the Raptors completing the 16-point comeback as the Hornets finished the night with a double-digit victory.
Inside the Box Score Jeremy Lin tallied a season-high 35 points, five rebounds, four assists and two blocks for the Hornets… Kemba Walker finished with 27 points, six rebounds, a team-high seven assists and two blocks… P.J. Hairston scored 14 points for the second-straight night, matching his season high… Marvin Williams tallied 10 points and a team-high-tying 10 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the season… Spencer Hawes chipped in five points, a team-high-tying and season-high 10 rebounds, four assists and a season-high three steals… DeMar DeRozan finished with 31 points on 12-of-25 shooting for his season-high fifth-consecutive game with 20-or-more points… Kyle Lowry tallied 20 points on 6-of-29 shooting (3-of-17 from three-point range) and a team-high seven assists… Terrence Ross also scored in double figures, finishing with 17 points… Bismack Biyombo flirted with a triple-double, notching eight points, a career-high 18 rebounds and a career-high-tying seven blocks… Charlotte connected on 10-of-29 shots from behind the arc (34.5 percent) while Toronto made just 9-of-39 attempts from long distance (23.1 percent)… The Hornets edged out the Raptors on the glass, 51-46… Charlotte outscored Toronto in overtime, 19-9, which was one point shy of tying the franchise record for most points ever scored in a single overtime period (20; Jan. 28, 2011 vs. Golden State).
Hornets Player of the Game Jeremy Lin had a sensational night for the short-handed Hornets, recording a game and season-high 35 points on 13-of-22 shooting from the field, five rebounds, four assists and two blocks in 47 minutes of play. This was Lin’s highest-scoring game since putting up 38 points against San Antonio on Dec. 10, 2012 as a member of the Houston Rockets and also the third-highest-scoring game overall of his career.
Raptors Player of the Game Bismack Biyombo had one of the best nights of his career against his former team, finishing with eight points, a career-high 18 rebounds and a career-high-tying seven blocks. This is Biyombo’s second-consecutive double-digit rebounding performance, which is one shy of matching his season high.
Game Notes Nicolas Batum did not play for Charlotte (illness)… Jonas Valanciunas (hand) and DeMarre Carroll (knee) did not play for the Raptors…Toronto’s Bismack Biyombo and Kyle Lowry were both whistled for technicals fouls during the game… Cody Zeller and Biyombo both fouled out of the game.
Next Up The Hornets will hit the road to take on the Wizards at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 19 in Washington, D.C.
