VanVleet sets franchise record as Raptors move closer to spot in play-in tournament with win over Hornets

Pascal Siakam scored 36 points, Fred VanVleet added 20 points and set a franchise record with 20 assists and the Toronto Raptors beat the undermanned Charlotte Hornets 128-108 on Sunday to inch closer to securing a spot in the NBA play-in tournament.

O.G. Anunoby added 23 points for the Raptors, who'll clinch a spot if the Brooklyn Nets beat the Utah Jazz later Sunday.

The visiting Raptors (39-39) entered the day tied with the Atlanta Hawks for eighth place in the Eastern Conference and looking to move up in the standings to secure a better chance of advancing out of the play-in tournament. The team finishing eighth needs just one victory; the team finishing ninth would need two to reach the postseason as the No. 8 seed.

"It's really important for us" to get to the 8 seed, VanVleet said. "For the last couple of weeks it has been really simple for us — we're in a win-every-game mode. There's not much to think about. You have to go out and perform and play your best and try to take care of business. We are just trying to play our best basketball at this time of the year.

VanVleet, who also owns the franchise single-game record for points, made sure the Raptors were on top of their game.

WATCH | VanVleet sets franchise single-game assist record:

The Raptors outscored the Hornets 90-44 in the paint in the opener of a two-game series, which helped offset 8-of-28 shooting from three-point range. The teams meet again Tuesday night in Charlotte.

"He was really good," Toronto coach Nick Nurse said of VanVleet. "He got the ball a lot of places where it needed to go."

Hornets coach Steve Clifford said VanVleet was "high intensity" from the beginning and his team couldn't stop him on the pick-and-roll.

Svi Mykhailiuk scored a