The Charlotte Hornets defeated the visiting Toronto Raptors 113 - 78, at Time Warner Cable Arena on Friday evening. The Hornets led right from the start, as they led 26 - 18 after the first quarter. The Raptors managed to close the gap to one point but Charlotte pulled away again before half. The Hornets then came out and dominated the third quarter, behind a dominant showing from Kemba Walker. The Hornets outscored the Raptors 58 - 30 in the second half, en route to the dominating victory. This marked the Raptors (28 - 15) lowest point total of the season, as they were not able to match the Hornets' intensity from the start. Kyle Lowry was the high - point man for Toronto, with 24 points on 7 - of - 18 shooting, while DeMar DeRozan followed up with 23 points on 8 - of - 17 shooting. The only other player to score in double digits for the Raptors was Jonas Valanciunas, who finished with 11 points and six rebounds. This marks the second straight loss for the Raptors, who will remain second place in the East. They will look to turn things around, as they head back home to play host to the Suns on Sunday. Meanwhile, the Hornets (22 - 21) have bounced back from a five - game losing streak by winning their second straight game. This was a huge win for Charlotte, against a solid Eastern Conference opponent. Kemba Walker was unstoppable, as he led his team with 32 points on 11 - of - 16 shooting, including a blazing 6 - of - 9 from long range. Five other players scored in double digits for the Hornets, with Frank Kaminsky III standing as the second - highest scorer, with 16 points on 5 - of - 10 shooting, in 27 minutes off the bench. The Hornets needed this win to maintain their chances of remaining in the top eight in the East, as the standings are pretty tight from seventh to tenth place. The Hornets will look to keep it rolling as they play host to the Nets on Saturday.
["TeamStat(G,'Hornets') has 21 Losses ,has 113 Total points ,has 26 Points in 1st quarter ,has 22 Wins ."
 "TeamStat(G,'Raptors') has 15 Losses ,has 78 Total points ,has 18 Points in 1st quarter ,has 28 Wins ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Jonas Valanciunas') has 11 3-pointers attempted ,has 6 3-pointers made ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'DeMar DeRozan') has 17 3-pointers attempted ,has 8 3-pointers made ,has 23 Field goals attempted ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Kyle Lowry') has 18 3-pointers attempted ,has 7 3-pointers made ,has 24 Field goals attempted ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Kemba Walker') has 9 3-pointers attempted ,has 6 3-pointers made ,has 16 Field goals attempted ,has 11 Field goals made ,has 32 Minutes played ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Frank Kaminsky') has 10 3-pointers attempted ,has 5 3-pointers made ,has 27 Field goals attempted ,has 16 Field goals made ."]