Maybe in the end it turns out to have been just another game near the middle of the season, a Tuesday night in late January that doesn’t ultimately mean an awful lot.
But maybe it doesn’t. Maybe this jumble that exists in the NBA’s Eastern Conference lasts until April, and an otherwise nondescript game against Charlotte takes on some added seeding importance.
And maybe the Raptors will look back on an improbable victory as one that carries a bit of extra weight in tiebreakers and confidence and messages sent.
Operating without two starters — including the beating heart of the lineup in Fred VanVleet — the Raptors put on one of their best offensive showings of the season, blitzing the Charlotte Hornets 125-113 before another sea of empty Scotiabank Arena seats.