Fourth Quarter Collapse Against Toronto Leads to Charlotte’s Fourth Straight Loss

The Charlotte Hornets lost their fourth consecutive game as they fell apart down the stretch against the Raptors in Toronto in a total collapse.

The Charlotte Hornets (24-32) were defeated by the Toronto Raptors (33-24) as they have now lost four consecutive games and closed out the first half of the season before the All-Star break on a sour note. Kemba Walker and Frank Kaminsky were outstanding and Charlotte played well enough to win but a fourth quarter collapse led to their eventual downfall. This game was a microcosm of the Hornets’ season as they fell apart in the closing period.

Cody Zeller missed his third straight game since re-aggravating his quad injury. Luckily, Frank Kaminsky filled in nicely for him at the starting center spot. Ramon Sessions missed his sixth straight game as he recovers from knee surgery while Miles Plumlee sat out due to a strained calf. Rookie big man, Mike Tobey, got his NBA/Hornets debut in this one.

Turning Point

The Hornets looked to have this game in the palm of their hands. They outscored the Raptors 55-27 in the second and third quarter. They had a 17 point lead entering the fourth. Then things quickly went south. Toronto opened the final period on a 20-2 run as Charlotte missed their first 11 shot attempts and didn’t make a shot from the field in over eight minutes. The Raptors ended up outscoring the Hornets 32-10 in the fourth as they only shot 4-17 in the period.

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Who Stepped Up

Frank “The Tank” Kaminsky stepped up big time as he scored a career-high 27 points on 11-18 shooting to go along with five rebounds. Kemba Walker played a staggering 42 minutes and recorded 24 points, nine assists and four boards. Nicolas Batum was the only other Hornets’ player to score in double figures as he finished with 10 points, five assists and six turnovers.

Mike Tobey scored two points and grabbed three rebounds in his debut. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist brought down 14 boards in this one. Outside of Kemba and Frank, the team struggled to find any consistent scoring.

The Raptors were led by Kyle Lowry who scored a team-high 21 points to go along with six assists and six rebounds. Norman Powell scored 17 points as he got his 15th start of the season for Toronto. DeMarre Carroll had a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds on the night. Delon Wright (11), DeMar DeRozan (10) and Jonas Valanciunas (10) rounded out the double-digit scorers.

Play of the Game:

Tweet of the Game:

"Quick Stings"

• MKG tied a season-high with 14 rebounds.
• Kaminsky recorded his seventh 10-point game of the season.
• Kemba recorded his seventh game with five of more made three’s.
• The Hornets committed 17 turnovers in this one.
• Charlotte’s bench only scored 13 points.

With the loss, the Hornets fall to 1-2 against the Raptors so far this season. The two sides will meet once more in Toronto on March 29th as Charlotte will look to even up their season series. They have now lost four straight matches in The Six dating back to the 2014-15 season.

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In their next game, the Charlotte Hornets will hit the road to take on the Detroit Pistons as they open up a six-game road trip. This game will come on February 23rd as the Hornets will get a week off with the All-Star break. Steve Clifford’s side will look to bounce back once they get back to action.