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Jeremy Lamb was once again the star and the Charlotte Hornets remained alive in the playoff race with a thrilling 113-111 win over the Toronto Raptors on Friday night.
Lamb scored 3 points in 3.3 seconds to give the Hornets ahead, then Charlotte held on when Kawhi Leonard's 3-point attempt was stuck between the edge and the back panel, with 1 second to do.
This was the first meeting of the teams since the Hornets knocked out the Raptors 115-114 in Toronto on March 24 on a miraculous shot from the Lamb Bank behind the mid-court line on the last ring.
The Hornets (37-42) had lost three of their previous four and were in full "must-win" mode on Friday night.
They accumulated 14 points in the first half, but no less than nine points early in the fourth quarter before Lamb's last-minute exploits.
Kemba Walker led the Hornets with 29 points. Lamb scored 22 goals, and Frank Kaminsky also scored 22 while getting 13 rebounds.
Leonard led the Raptors with 29 points. Serge Ibaka had 20 points and 12 rebounds. Kyle Lowry scored 16 points and 11 assists. Pascal Siakam added 14 points and Fred VanVleet had 12 points.
The Raptors (56-24) entered the match with No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs, with Milwaukee winning first on Thursday.
The Hornets entered the match in 10th place in the Eastern Conference standings, 2 and a half games behind 7 Brooklyn and 8 Orlando, and two games behind number 9 Miami.
The Raptors led 34-33 after a quarter-lap after taking a 19-5 lead. Toronto then used an 11-0 record late in the second quarter to take a 65-57 lead at halftime.
Charlotte was in the top 90-86 after three quarters thanks to nine consecutive points in a stretch of Lamb.
In the end, there were 17 lead changes. Siakam's three-pointer gave Toronto a 109-108 lead with 39.2 seconds to go, then Walker scored a pass to give the Hornets a 110-109 lead.
Leonard drove for a basket with 15 seconds before Lamb hit his winner.
Both teams will be absent on Saturday before playing Sunday. The Raptors will host Miami while the Hornets play in Detroit.
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