Toronto Raptors 111 Charlotte Hornets
The Raptors started off the 2020-2021 pre-season with a win over the Charlotte Hornets.
Matt Thomas led the way for Toronto scoring 16 points in 22 minutes of action.
Toronto will be without the services of Kyle Lowry during the pre-season for load management.
Lowry who is going into his fourteenth season in the NBA, could certainly use the extra rest.
The Hornets raced out to a 19-point lead Saturday, but the Raptors came back chipping the lead to 32-23 at the end of the first quarter.
Toronto outscored Charlotte 35-19 in the second and took a 58-51 advantage into the halftime break.
The starters did not play in the second half so that head coach Nick Nurse could get a better look at the teams newcomers for the upcoming season.
Among those bench players is Matt Thomas who led the way in the third quarter with eight points.
Malachi Flynn and Terence Davis were also impressive for the Raptors scoring 9 and 13 points a piece in 20 minutes of action.
The Raptors will play Charlotte again on Monday and will round out the pre-season against Miami on Friday.
The 2020-2021 season will be quite different. With empty arenas and COVID-19 testing performed daily.
Players are tested twice a day for COVID-19 and with travelling back in play testing will be very important.
Almost nine per cent of the league’s players tested positive in preliminary testing ahead of training camp.
The Toronto Raptors had three positive tests within the organization during preliminary testing, but the team did not release any further information.
