Charlotte Hornets get routed by the Toronto Raptors at home, 123-103
The Charlotte Hornets were embarrassed by DeMar DeRozan and company as the Toronto Raptors dominated the Queen City team.
The Charlotte Hornets (23-33) were defeated by the Toronto Raptors (39-16) as they dropped their fourth straight game. Charlotte couldn’t contain Toronto as the Raptors had three players score 20+ points and six players in double-figures. Outside of Kemba Walker and Dwight Howard, it was a pretty pedestrian showing from every other player wearing purple and teal.
One positive thing for the Hornets is that they didn’t have anyone on the injury report for this game. The only inactive player for Charlotte was Willy Hernangomez who joined the team for the first time but didn’t play because he has yet to practice with them. Every player who was active saw minutes in this one.
Game Story
After Charlotte started the game on a 10-0 run, it was all downhill from there. The Hornets couldn’t even hold their lead through the first quarter as they trailed 30-26 after the first period. A 19-0 run in the fourth quarter by Toronto helped them push their lead to as much as 36 points in the final period. This game only featured one lead change.
More from Swarm and Sting
- Hornets: Where does Brandon Miller’s ceiling rank among other rookies?
- Charlotte Hornets grade out mostly average in position-by-position ranking
- Hornets News: P.J. Washington makes bold statement on Brandon Miller
- Grade the mock trade: Hornets snag Tyler Herro, flip Gordon Hayward
- Will the Charlotte Hornets be in the 2024 NBA Draft Lottery?
Player of the Game
Kemba Walker finished the game with 23 points and nine assists. The all-star point guard also made four three-point shots but only scored five points after halftime after putting up 18 in the first half. He was one assist short of recording his fourth double-double of the season.
Dwight Howard put up 17 points and 13 rebounds in this one. Jeremy Lamb added 13 points off of the bench while Frank Kaminsky and Cody Zeller each had 10 points. Nicolas Batum only managed to score two points on 0-10 shooting in 25 minutes. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (9) and Marvin Williams (6) didn’t fare much better as they only combined to score 15 points.
The Raptors were led by DeMar DeRozan who ended the night with a game-high 25 points to go along with eight assists. C.J. Miles scored 24 points in only 17 minutes to lead Toronto’s second unit while Jonas Valanciunas had 21 points and nine rebounds. Kyle Lowry (12), Fred VanVleet (10) and Serge Ibaka (10) rounded out the double-figure scorers.
Highlight of the Night:
Hornets aren't one of those "what a series of disasters" deals. Good process, it just didn't work. I'd go for a hard reset at this point.
— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) February 11, 2018
Tweet of the Game:
"Quick Stings"
- Dwight Howard grabbed his 35th double-double of the season.
- Toronto outscored Charlotte 18-8 in fastbreak points.
- The Raptors scored 22 points off of turnovers.
- MKG passed Dell Curry for seventh all-time in rebounds for Charlotte.
- Nic Batum became only the seventh player in the NBA this season to attempt at least 10 shots and miss all of them. (via @bgeis_bird)
With the loss, Charlotte falls to 0-3 against Toronto so far this season. The two sides will meet once more this year north of the border on March 4th. The Hornets have now lost seven of their last nine regular-season games to the Raptors dating back to the 2015-16 season.
Next: Kemba Walker named to the 2018 NBA All-Star Game
In their next outing, the Hornets will hit the road to take on the Orlando Magic on Wednesday, February 14th. It will be a Valentine’s Day affair between the two divisional rivals. Steve Clifford’s side will look to not only snap their four-game losing streak but also win their 10th straight against Orlando.