Four Charlotte Hornets scored at least 20 points as they narrowly held on to defeat the Toronto Raptors, 119-116.

Summary

The Hornets got out to a good start. Gordon Hayward made a few early buckets in and around the paint and Brandon Miller hit a couple of 3-pointers. They led by as many as 13 at a few points and held a lead of that much thanks to a jab step 3-pointer from PJ Washington in the final seconds of the quarter.

Precious Achiuwa, maker of seven 3-pointers all season long before this game, hit back to back threes early in the second quarter. The Hornets weren’t fazed though. They continued to build on their lead, which hit a high water mark of 20 after back to back jumpers by Gordon Hayward. But the comfortable lead didn’t last. The Hornets committed a series of turnovers and then compounded those turnovers by putting Raptors on the line over and over again. By intermission, the Raptors had whittled the lead down to 12.

Scottie Barnes game out of the gates hot to start the second half. His ten early points narrowed the Hornets lead to single digits. That opening flurry was about the only significant flurry of scoring the third quarter. The teams played fast but not necessarily efficiently, and the Hornets gradually restored their lead before taking a 13 point advantage into the fourth quarter.

The Raptors wiped that lead away in almost no time. On the rare occasions they missed shots, they rebounded the ball until they made one or the Hornets would simply foul them. They ended up taking the lead on Achiuwa’s third 3-pointer of the game. To that point in the quarter, the Raptors had outscored the Hornets 24-6. The Hornets took a much needed timeout to calm the waters. A couple of 3-pointers later, they were back in the lead, and it was the Raptors turn to take a timeout. The Hornets had a streak of 34 consecutive made free throws snapped by a Gordon Hayward miss, but he tracked down his own rebound and laid the ball back in to steal an extra point from that possession. A few possessions later, Hayward was called for an offensive foul while trying to set up a screen. The call was challenged and completely reversed, putting Nick Richards on the line after he was run over on said screen. With time winding down, the Hornets put the ball in the hands of their closer. Terry Rozier hit a step back three to put the Hornets up three with 22 seconds to play. That was followed by perhaps the softest landing area foul call you’ll ever see, which put Scottie Barnes on the line with a chance to tie. He missed the first free throw. Rozier hit a pair of free throws to restore the lead, and Barnes’ second attempt to tie the game missed and there were no bailout calls.

The Good

The Hornets had another historically good shooting night. They shot 55.7% from the field, 52.0% from three, and 90.0% from the free throw line. They started the season shooting a terrible ball. Hopefully this strong stretch of shooting marks the turning of the corner.

Brandon Miller bounced back from his struggles against Chicago with a strong performance on Friday night. He had some sloppy turnovers, but you’ll take those in exchange for him being more aggressive with the ball. He finished with 20 points, five rebounds, and three assists. He made 4-of-7 threes, which means he’s now 24-of-45 over his last game. That’s 53.3%. Pretty good.

Terry Rozier has played very well as the team’s point guard in LaMelo Ball’s absence. He finished the game with 13 assists, which matches the career high he set a few games ago. He’s averaging 10.0 assists per game in the last four games.

Gordon Hayward and Miles Bridges chipped in 24 and 22 points respectively. They both had key buckets down the stretch.

The Bad

This is the second time in four games that the Hornets have shot 50% from the field, 50% from three, and 90% from the free throw line. Those are the only two games they’ve won in that stretch, and they won them by a combined four points. And that’s with the Raptors shooting 18.8% from three in this game. If the Hornets need to score that efficiently just to barely beat teams, that’s not a good omen for the rest of the season.

The biggest reason for the closeness of the game is the Hornets inability to protect their basket. The Raptors scored 74 points in the paint and 19 second chance points on 14 offensive rebounds. The Hornets continue to be woeful in this area despite playing almost every minute with a big, traditional, center that’s supposed to protect the rim and clean the glass.

Bryce McGowens had a 7 trillion. Seven minutes played and not a single stat registered. It’s only seven minutes so it’s nothing major, but you can’t finish with a trillion. You gotta put a number on the board, Bryce. I don’t care what category it’s in.

What’s Next

The Hornets will have the weekend off before hosting the Miami Heat on Monday.