Toronto @ Atlanta preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 29, 2017 ) Atlanta 98, Toronto 111

The Toronto Raptors are likely looking forward to a long stretch loaded with home games, but they first must get past an improving Atlanta Hawks team on the road Wednesday night. The Raptors, who are 17-3 at home, will play 10 of 13 in Air Canada Centre beginning with Friday's matchup against Utah, and they hope to head to Toronto on a good note.

Their two-game road trip began with a 115-109 loss at Minnesota on Saturday, the squad's fourth loss in seven contests following a 17-3 run. "We didn't match their intensity coming out of the locker room in the second half," coach Dwane Casey said after his team was outscored by 14 points after the break. "We knew they were going to come. We just didn't move offensively. We were standing, watching the ball. We were trying to run our sets, but we played in mud." Toronto won its first two against Atlanta by an average of 23.5 points, but the Hawks are on their best run of the season with four victories in six games, the latest a 104-90 triumph over the Jazz on Monday. Dennis Schroder had 20 points as Atlanta improved to 3-2 on its current six-game homestand.

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, Sportsnet ONE (Toronto), FS Southeast (Atlanta)

ABOUT THE RAPTORS (31-14): The loss to Minnesota wasted a phenomenal effort for Kyle Lowry, who posted a season-high 40 points in 34 turnover-free minutes, but the team as a whole faded in the second night of a back-to-back. "We've got to come out with a little bit more energy on the back-to-back, but it's no excuse," Lowry told reporters. The 31-year-old is averaging 13.5 points on 37.5 percent in the two routs of Atlanta, and fellow star guard DeMar DeRozan had a season-low two points in 28 minutes in his previous visit to Philips Arena.

ABOUT THE HAWKS (14-32): Taurean Prince added 17 points and 12 different Atlanta players got into the scoring column in the win over the Jazz, which gives the Hawks a 7-7 mark after a 7-25 start. "We've got to keep it going," Prince told reporters after matching his scoring total from the previous four games combined. Schroder is averaging 22.2 points and seven assists through the first five games of the homestand.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Prince scored 30 points on 12-of-16 shooting in the most recent meeting, a 111-98 win for Toronto at home last month.

2. Atlanta is 4-10 at home against Eastern Conference opponents, compared to 6-3 against the West.

3. DeRozan is 2-for-16 from 3-point range over the last five games after going 16-for-32 through the first six contests this month.

PREDICTION: Raptors 104, Hawks 100