After two straight losses earlier this week — one of which was to the last-place team in the Western Conference — the Toronto Raptors were looking to bounce back quickly.
It sure didn't take long.
The Raptors dominated the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, beating the Hawks 111-98.
Ball game. Raps win! pic.twitter.com/p4al7RXOPd
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) December 30, 2017
It took a little bit for the Raptors to get going, though.
The two teams bounced back and fourth early on until the Hawks built up a brief five-point lead near the end of the first quarter. However, that was their biggest lead of the game.
The Raptors went on a 13-3 run to close out the first quarter, and then had built up a 10 point lead just minutes into the second period.
Yet while the Hawks pushed back slightly in the fourth quarter, it was too late. The Raptors cruised to the 13-point win at home, correcting their two-game skid.
DeMar DeRozan led the Raptors with 25 points, shooting 10-of-18 from the field. Friday marked the first time in three games that DeRozan scored more than 20 points, after putting up 15 against the Thunder and only eight against the Mavericks earlier this week.
Center Jonas Valanciunas finished with a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Delon Wright also finished with 13 points and seven rebounds. Point guard Kyle Lowry added 12 points, five rebounds and five assists.
Taurean Prince led Atlanta with a double-double, finishing with 30 points and 10 rebounds. Dennis Schroder and Marco Belinelli each finished with 14 points.
Ibaka suspended
Raptors forward Serge Ibaka sat out Friday's game against the Hawks after being suspended for a violation of team rules.
The Raptors said that the "suspension resulted from an altercation between Ibaka and a Raptors staff member" after their game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday. The Raptors lost to the Thunder 124-107.
"Both parties have apologized," Raptors president Masai Ujiri said in a statement. "We've discussed this internally as a team, and we won't be discussing it any further. Now we're focused on moving forward together, and we look forward to having Serge back in the lineup."
Ibaka is averaging 13.8 points and six rebounds so far this season. He is expected to return to the lineup on Monday when Toronto hosts the Milwaukee Bucks.