Raptors' Lowry turns ankle late in win over Hornets

Kyle Lowry helped vault his Toronto Raptors past the Charlotte Hornets on New Year's Day behind an incendiary fourth quarter, but rather than jog off triumphantly, he limped to the locker room after the final buzzer sounded.

Lowry closed out the game on a bad wheel, having tweaked an ankle when he landed on Hornets point guard Kemba Walker late in the fourth quarter.

Lowry, who struggled with injuries in the second half of last season, has had a clean bill of health so far in 2015-16, and has yet to sit out a game despite his heavy workload and penchant for reckless, careening basketball.

The 29-year-old soon-to-be two-time All-Star finished with 18 points, five rebounds, 11 assists, and two steals in a team-high 41 minutes Friday. He said after the game that his ankle is fine, despite the pronounced limp.

The Raptors will have to hope that's true, because they've been a mess this season without Lowry on the floor. He'll have a relatively short layoff in which to heal up, with a Sunday matinee against the Chicago Bulls looming.