RJ Barrett poured in 23 points and the Toronto Raptors went on a 9-0 run down the stretch to pull out a 123-117 victory against the host Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday night.
Barrett didn’t play Monday night at New Orleans as he has been on load management since returning from a knee injury, but the Raptors needed his offense to snap a three-game skid. Barrett shot 9 for 15 from the floor, part of Toronto’s 53.1 percent shooting overall.
Toronto’s Immanuel Quickley and Scottie Barnes each scored 18 points, Gary Trent Jr. had 14 points and Jakob Poeltl provided 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Miles Bridges led the Hornets with 45 points, eclipsing the 40-point mark for the second game in a row.
Trailing for most of the game, including 115-113 with less than 3 1/2 minutes to play, the Raptors got baskets from Barrett, Quickley and Poeltl and two free throws from Dennis Schroder before the Hornets scored again on a Nick Richards’ free throw with 22 seconds left in the game.
Charlotte had more than a three-minute scoring drought as its losing streak grew to nine games.
Brandon Miller scored 20 points, Cody Martin added 19 points and reserve Bryce McGowens chipped in 10 points for the Hornets.
Bridges shot 17 for 27 from the floor, including six 3-pointers. He also led Charlotte with eight rebounds and was second on the team with seven assists.
The Hornets, who’ve now lost in their last eight home outings, appeared to be in good shape, leading 101-93, until the Raptors rattled off 11 consecutive points, capped by Gradey Dick’s 3-pointer.
Bridges completed a three-point play with 6:30 to go for Charlotte. His 3-pointer less than two minutes later gave the Hornets a 113-110 edge.
Charlotte led 60-54 at halftime on the strength of 52.5 percent shooting from the floor. Both teams had connected on 10 shots from 3-point range before the break.
–Field Level Media
