The Toronto Raptors defeated the Atlanta Hawks, 122-117, at State Farm Arena on Monday afternoon.

On paper, it seemed as if the Raptors (29-14) were going to cruise their way against the lowly Hawks (10-34) but that couldn't have been further from the truth. Atlanta posted a tough challenge and, with a bit more luck and a few bounces going their way, they could have pulled quite an upset here. The Raptors jumped to an early 36-25 lead and it looked as if they were going to set the tone for the rest of the afternoon, but Atlanta came out of nowhere to turn things around and grab a three-point lead at the break. Toronto steered the game their way in the third quarter with a 26-22 score, and the Raptors sealed the deal with a 39-35 score during the final 12 minutes of action. With the win, Toronto moved to 14-7 on the road while Atlanta fell to 5-16 at home.

Pascal Siakam led the way for Toronto since he finished with 18 points and six rebounds, although the team’s leading scorer was Norman Powell who exploded for 27 points off the bench. Fred VanVleet had 20 points, four rebounds, three steals and two assists, including several clutch free throws down the stretch. Marc Gasol had 14 points and five rebounds. Kyle Lowry had 10 assists and seven dimes.

Trae Young led the way for the Hawks since he had 42 points, 15 assists and six rebounds, including 18 fourth-quarter points. John Collins had 17 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out. DeAndre Hunter and Cam Reddish each had 13 points – Hunter added six rebounds and four assists, while Reddish added eight boards. Bruno Fernando contributed 12 points in only 16 minutes coming off the bench.