Raptors narrowly avoid Hornets’ sting

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The Toronto Raptors continued to experiment with their lineup on Sunday night, as they won their fourth game in a row, 103-98 over the Charlotte Hornets.

DeMar DeRozan led Toronto with 19 points, while Jonas Valanciunas had 18 points and 13 rebounds, as the Raps squeaked out a sloppy close one in the dog days of the season. They improved to 45-17, remaining atop the Eastern Conference, now two games ahead of the Boston Celtics.

With 20 games to go, the Raps appear on course to surpass their franchise-best 56-win season from 2015-16, and they're using this stretch to find out exactly what they've got going into the playoffs.

Toronto rookie OG Anunoby was sidelined for the second consecutive game after spraining his right ankle. While Norman Powell started in his place on Friday, the Raptors tried something different this time, tapping little-known NBA rookie Malcolm Miller to start in that small-forward spot.

Toronto coach Dwane Casey said Anunoby – the starting small forward – isn't expected to be out long, but that position may remain fluid, as the team tries different players before the playoffs.

Miller had appeared in just six games for the Raptors this year, most of it in garbage time at the end of the Raptors' blowout victories. That is, except for the seven important minutes he played on Friday in Toronto's tight 102-95 win over the Washington Wizards, where he impressed Raptors coaches with his performance, which included defensive hustle and a nice three-point basket.

"Malcolm has also played over in Europe; that's a big plus for him, too," Casey said. "He's a guy we need to see. We're gonna look at different people in that situation. … It doesn't mean anybody's ahead of anybody else. … I get criticized when I don't change the rotation and I get criticized when I do. There's no drama whatsoever."

The 6-foot-7, 24-year-old undrafted guard played collegiately at Holy Cross and has appeared in 32 games with the team's G League affiliate Raptors 905 this season. There, he has averaged 12.5 points – including two three-pointers – a game.

And so the Malcolm Miller experiment began. The Raptors' loud and flashy pregame introductions began as usual, with the team's in-game host Mark (Strizzzy) Strong introducing "the Lethal Lithuanian," Valanciunas, followed by "Your No. 1 Shot Blocka Serge Ibaka," then the fresh-faced rookie making his first NBA start, "the Mad Dog" Miller.

Miller went 0-for-2 from the field in his opening seven minutes, and added one rebound. Valanciunas racked up nine points in that opening quarter – including a bucket from beyond the arc – as the Raptors held a 26-21 lead at the end of the first.

It was the first of three games in four nights for the Raptors. The Hornets, sitting two spots removed from playoff position, were trying to keep their fading postseason hopes alive.

The Raptors continued tinkering with the rotation in the second quarter, inserting little-used big man Lucas Nogueira into the reserve unit during one spurt, in place of Jakob Poeltl. When the starting group returned to the floor late in the second quarter, Powell was back in the small-forward spot.

When the Raptors came back from halftime with a 52-43 lead, it was Miller back in with the starters. He finished with no points and two personal fouls in 14 minutes. Powell was scoreless, too, on 0-3 shooting, with two boards in four minutes.

The Raptors allowed the Hornets to chip within a basket late in the fourth before escaping with a narrow win.

Charlotte all-star Kemba Walker had 27 points on 8-of-23 shooting as he led the way for the Hornets.

It was the fourth win for Toronto over the Hornets this season, which completed the series sweep.

The Raptors play host to the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday before going to Detroit to face the Pistons on Wednesday, followed by a visit from the NBA-leading Houston Rockets on Friday.

"You don't have time to sit and celebrate," Casey said. "If you stop every game and smell the roses, that smell's gonna go away pretty quick."