The Charlotte Hornets pieced together a solid opening three quarters of basketball before a fourth-quarter run by the Toronto Raptors sealed a 112-109 preseason loss on Monday, Dec. 14 at Spectrum Center.
Terry Rozier and Jalen McDaniels each scored a team-high 15 points for the Hornets in the loss, with the latter doing so on 5-of-7 shooting in just 15 minutes off the bench. McDaniels’ regular season career high is 11 points from March 9, 2020 and he cracked double figures just twice in 16 rookie appearances last year.
Charlotte led by eight and three, respectively, after the opening two frames, shooting 51% and 47% from three (8-of-17) in the first half. Clinging to a two-point advantage heading into the fourth, the Hornets watched as the Raptors pulled ahead with an 11-0 run midway through the quarter for a 102-94 advantage, a lead they ultimately never surrendered.
Gordon Hayward (14 points), Devonte’ Graham (13), LaMelo Ball (12) and Cody Zeller (10) were all in double figures as well for the Hornets. Hayward and Graham each dished out a game-high six dimes for a Charlotte squad that assisted on an impressive 32-of-37 field goals (86.5% assist percentage; went 19-of-20 in the first half).
“I love playing against Toronto because they’re a very good defense,” said Hornets Head Coach James Borrego after the game. “They’re physical, they’re in the paint, they force you to kick out. I couldn’t ask for a better team to tune us up for the season than Toronto. In general, we’re a team that is committed to playing with the pass and I expect that to get better. Tonight was a great example of that.”
Toronto’s Fred VanVleet finished with a game-high 23 points (21 in the first half) on 5-of-7 from deep, four assists and three steals. Rookie Malachi Flynn scored 17 points, All-Star forward Pascal Siakam had 12 points and Chris Boucher pulled down a game-high eight rebounds for the visitors in the victory.
After turning the ball over 23 times on Saturday night, the Hornets had enough rough night in terms of ball security, racking up 25 giveaways for 36 Toronto points. The Raptors struggled as well in this area, tallying 24 turnovers for 32 Charlotte points.
Borrego added, “We have to clean up the turnover game, but I love what I’m seeing with the ball movement and decision-making right now. [We’re] a competitive group, a feisty group, a together group. They’re absorbing quite a bit right now and we’ve thrown a lot at them conceptually on both ends of the floor and they’ve been able to handle it. This is a high basketball IQ team.”
The Hornets will be back in action on Thursday, Dec. 17 at 7 PM EST when they face the Orlando Magic at the Amway Center in Orlando, FL. Catch the action on Fox Sports Southeast and WFNZ 610 AM.
