The Toronto Raptors slipped at home last night, losing their contest against the Charlotte Hornets, 99-96. It was arguably the worst performance of the season for Nick Nurse and his team, especially on the offensive side of the ball.
The champions posted 34.7% from the field, and were 23.3% from behind the three-point line, making just 10 downtown hits in 43 attempts.
“Obviously, we didn’t make shots. We were missing everything – layups, free throws, I mean, the list goes on. Threes.” stated disappointed Pascal Siakam.
Raptors’ forward had a team-high 24 buckets, but his shooting percentages were low, as well as the entire team’s. He was 9-of-23, making just one of his five three-point attempts.
On the other side, the Hornets weren’t much better with 43.6% from the field, but were consistent enough to create this upset. Also, the guests from North Carolina outrebounded the Raptors, which is a rare thing to see. Charlotte had 66 boards, compared to 56 by the home team.
It’s no wonder why their head coach James Borrego shined from happiness at the press conference.
“Probably one of our best wins of the season,” Borrego said. “They’re a fantastic team, a well-coached team, they know what they’re doing. It was a big-time win for us.”
With 2.1 seconds to go, Terry Rozier made a free throw to give his team a 97-96 advantage, following Rondae Hollis-Jefferson’s away from play foul. That turned out to be the decisive moment of the match. After that, Devonte’ Graham sunk two free throws, and the guests set the final score.
The Hornets were up 44-27 midway through the second period, once they picked up the rhythm and started hurting the Raptors. They would limit the champions to just 18 points in that sequence, while posting 27 on the other side.
All of Charlotte’s five guys from the starting lineup scored a double-digit number of points. Rozier and Graham had 18 each, with the note that Scary Terry added 6 assists and rebounds, while Graham had 5 dimes.
Mile Bridges scored 17, PJ Washington had 15, while Bismark Biyombo recorded a double-double with 13 buckets and 11 boards.
Among the hosts, besides Siakam Kyle Lowry and Norman Powell scored 43 points combined. Powell had 22 and Lowry one fewer. These two guys were 7-of-23 combined for three and were the only ones who tried to create some pressure at the Hornets’ backcourt.
“You don’t ever want to lose, but we’ve gotta learn from it,” Lowry said. “We’ve got a big trip coming up to get back to being the team that we’ve been together.”
As for the trip, the Raptors (42-17) are heading on a five-game journey throughout the Western Conference. The challenges start this Sunday in Denver, where they face the Nuggets, who lost to the Clippers last night and are in desperate need of a win now. After that, Nurse, Lowry, and the rest of the crew have stops in Phenix, San Francisco, Sacramento, and Salt Lake City.
The Hornets (21-38) face the Bucks tomorrow at home.
