Raptors vs. Hornets: How to Watch, Live Stream, & Odds for Saturday's Game

The Toronto Raptors will look to string together their first winning streak of the season when they take on the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday night

Author:
Aaron Rose
Publish date:
Jan 16, 2021 10:32 AM EST

The Toronto Raptors will look to string together their first winning streak of the season when they return to the court to take on the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday night. It'll be a rematch of Thursday night's thrilling one-possession victory for the Raptors, who staved off a last-minute scare to clinch a 111-108 victory, just their third of the season.

It wasn't a pretty fourth quarter for Toronto who watched another double-digit lead whittled away late on Thursday. After three beautiful quarters of basketball, the Raptors offence stagnated late and almost blew their third straight one-possession game. Unlike the prior two games, Toronto did everything wrong in the final possession against the Hornets but came away with the victory.

"It's a funny game sometimes," Raptors coach Nick Nurse said following the game.

Toronto will once again be without centre Alex Len who remains out due to personal reasons. His absence could prompt another lineup shuffle from Nurse who saw Aron Baynes struggle once again in his limited minutes as the starting centre on Thursday. It could be the first start of the season for Chris Boucher who has looked phenomenal coming off the bench so far this year. If not him, the Raptors might decide to go small, bumping Norman Powell into the starting unit.

Charlotte's Gordon Hayward is listed as questionable with a left hip strain. He did not play on Thursday.