Siakam falls just short of 2nd career triple-double as Raptors cruise past Hornets

Pascal Siakam narrowly missed a triple-double in his stint at point guard, Toronto got off to a hot start and the short-handed Raptors beat the Charlotte Hornets 125-113 on Tuesday in Toronto.

With Fred VanVleet sitting out with a sore right knee, Siakam started at point guard. He had 24 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds, while Gary Trent Jr. poured in a season-high 32 points.

Anunoby had 24 points, while Chris Boucher had 12 points, Malachi Flynn chipped in with 11, and rookie Dalano Banton had 10 for the Raptors (23-22), who were also missing Scottie Barnes (right wrist swelling).

Lamelo Ball had 25 points to lead the Hornets (26-22).

Two days after they trailed Portland by a whopping 34 points in the first half, the Raptors looked like a different team out of the gate. They assembled an early 18-point lead, and scored a season-high 76 points in the first half.

WATCH | Siakam excels at point guard in win with VanVleet out:

Ball scored on a running dunk, swinging off the rim with one hand, the highlight of a Hornets' 10-0 run that pulled them to within three points. But the Raptors weathered the storm, and when Trent Jr. went to the free-throw line for four shots — he was fouled on a three-point attempt, and the Hornets were assessed a technical — the Raptors were back up by 21, their largest lead of the game. Toronto went into the fourth up 105-86.

Trent Jr. and Siakam combined for 24 points in the first quarter, and a three-pointer from Banton capped a 19-3 Raptors run that put them up by 18 points late in the frame. Toronto led 39-27 to start the second.

Seldom-used Flynn, who'd played the previous night with the team's G League affiliate Raptors 905, had nine points in the second quarter and Toronto went into the