Charlotte Hornets guard Nicolas Batum controls the ball as Toronto Raptors forward OG Anunoby defends in Toronto on Nov. 29, 2017.Nick Turchiaro
The Toronto Raptors were well rested and their leading scorer was acting like their leading scorer.
And Drake was in the house, looking his usual sublimely cool self, in his courtside seats just beside the Raptors bench.
With all those positive vibes at the Air Canada Centre on Wednesday night, how could the Raptors lose?
They didn't – they gave it their best shot – but they didn't.
Shrugging off another lackadaisical third-quarter implosion that caused coach Dwane Casey to have steam shooting from his ears in the aftermath, the Raptors were finally able to subdue the never-say-die Charlotte Hornets 126-113.
Toronto (13-7) won its second in a row and the Hornets (8-12) lost for the third straight outing.
Toronto was led by Kyle Lowry with 36 points and a career-high eight threes. DeMar DeRozan had 30 points.
But it was the third quarter letdown, where Toronto went in leading 71-52 only to see it mostly evaporate to 93-85 heading into the fourth, that galled Casey in spite of the final outcome.
"I don't have words," said Casey, clearly seething, before finding a way to express his rage.
"It's just mind-boggling," he continued. "And on top of that we give them 38 free throws. We're playing defence, fouling, reacting, not being proactive defensively.
"We're happy we won the game but not happy with the performance."
It has been a nasty habit of late for the Raptors, decidedly poor third quarters with their top five starters on the floor.
On Nov. 22 during a 108-100 loss to New York, the Knicks outscored Toronto 41-10 in the third. Two days later it was the Indiana Pacers enjoying a 31-20 advantage in the third en-route to a 107-104 triumph.
"I don't know, start another five to start the second half," groused Casey.
This time around for the Raptors, they were fortunate they had the firepower to withstand Charlotte's third quarter onslaught.
Toronto extended its lead to as many as 12 in the fourth on a Lowry corner three, but Charlotte responded in kind with a long shot by Nicolas Batum that cut the Raptors' lead to 109-104 with about 4 ½- minutes left.
But Serge Ibaka hit a mid-range jumper and, following a Charlotte miss, Lowry inserted the dagger with his fourth three of the final frame that boosted Toronto's lead back to 116-114 with just over three to go.
"I did not even know [it was unfolding]," Lowry said of his career-high three-point shooting performance. "I didn't know how many threes I'd hit until after the game, until DeMar told me."
The night did not start off on the right foot for Casey, who experienced one of the delights of city living, caught up in massive gridlock that delayed his arrival at the arena.
"I could see the building," Casey tried to explain.
But not wanting to drive onto the sidewalk and risk bowling over a hot dog vendor, Casey had to bide his time and stew in traffic like most Torontonians have to regularly.
The Raptors did receive a bit of a break heading into the game with the news out of Charlotte that Kemba Walker, the Hornets' spark-plug guard who leads the team in both points (22.3) and assists (6.2) would be sitting this one out.
Walker suffered a left shoulder injury during Saturday's loss to the San Antonio Spurs.
Wednesday's game was the start of a three-game homestand for the Raptors, who are enjoying a bit of a lull in their schedule.
Heading in against Charlotte, the Raptors enjoyed a rare three-day break, allowing coach Casey some valuable practice time to teach his group some new tricks, such as the finer points of a zone defence.
Not that Casey said he plans to use it all that much – not like in the old days, back when he was still an assistant running the defence for the Dallas Mavericks.
"The league has caught up to zones," Casey said. "There are too many good shooters for a team to run it for a long period of time. Dallas is running it probably as much as anyone right now and then Boston uses it on side out and out of bounds under [the basket].
"Not a lot of teams are doing it as much but still I believe it is an effective curveball when you want to go that way."
The break also allowed DeRozan, Toronto's leading offensive light, to get treatment on a sore left knee that he bruised in Saturday's game in Atlanta where he was limited to just two points in a 112-78 win.
That game was the third consecutive outing that DeRozan, Toronto's leading scorer averaging 22.9 points a game, failed to crack the 20-point plateau.
"It happens," DeRozan shrugged when asked about his recent offensive slump. "As long as we win, that's always my main priority."
DeRozan seemed intent on rectifying matters early in the first quarter, connecting quickly on two jumpers and then a driving layup to jump-start Toronto to a 6-2 lead.
Everything was clicking Toronto's way in the opening frame when it opened up a 32-25 lead.
Jonas Valanciunas turned fellow Charlotte big man Dwight Howard inside out for a nicely crafted layup before Ibaka curled smartly into the paint for a big old-fashioned thrown-down dunk.
It was Lowry's turn to shine in the second quarter, exploding for 17 of his points off five-of-five shooting – including three three-pointers – to help extend Toronto's advantage to 71-52 by the half.
The Raptors, who have had some horrid third quarters this year, then managed to fashion another one.
Charlotte erupted on a 19-2 run to begin the second half that downsized what had been a comfortable Toronto lead into a rather nervous 73-71 advantage.