Toronto has been one of the NBA’s hottest teams in January. Fred VanVleet has been one of the league’s best guards this month. Though New Orleans remained within striking distance throughout Sunday’s interconference matchup and had a chance to prevail late, VanVleet’s clutch-time scoring allowed the Raptors to pull off a narrow victory.
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
Toronto tracked down a pair of offensive rebounds, the first by VanVleet and second by center Khem Birch, with the Raptors already up by three in the waning seconds. Birch went to the foul line and sank a free throw with 5 seconds remaining, putting the hosts up by two possessions.