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Toronto laughing, Charlotte crying | NBA

The Raptors have confirmed to be one of the teams in form, by winning a sixth consecutive victory on the floor of the Hornets, in order to take 6th place in the East in Brooklyn!

Conversely, things are not going well at all for the Hornets, beaten for the fifth time in a row and who are sinking in the standings. This time, after quickly losing Gordon Hayward, shot in the ankle, James Borrego’s men suffered against the power of this Canadian group, which still relies so much on its five major.

In great difficulty to find rhythm, and with voiceless shooters (9/40 in the end at 3-pointers), the Hornets thus found themselves at 23 points (29-52) in the second quarter.

But taking advantage of Toronto’s loss of ball, and an aggressive and finally skilful Terry Rozier, the locals raised the bar… to come back to 3 small points (73-76) in the third quarter. Charlotte seemed to have reversed the “momentum”, facing a Toronto team still limited offensively, but the overall awkwardness of the Hornets, which has now lasted for some time, prevented them from being able to make the switch.

The 3-pointers from Gary Trent Jr. or Fred VanVleet and the offensive rebounds have thus hurt the desire for a “comeback” of the Hornets, who therefore bow again (101-116) and will have to find solutions.

WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER

Gordon Hayward’s injury. Already struggling since returning from isolation, shooting 3/20 in his last two games, Gordon Hayward saw Gary Trent Jr. fall on his ankle midway through the first quarter. Enough to send him back to the locker room and end his evening, after six minutes of play.

Charlotte unable to make her “momentum” last. Toronto dominated the first half but Charlotte are a team of pace, who can turn any situation around…as long as the 3-pointers go in. The energy of “Buzz City” thus seems extremely linked to its external address, which allows it to undermine the enemy’s morale and boost its own. And when it doesn’t fit, it gets very complicated for the Hornets.

The power of the Raptors. Toronto may be lacking in pure individual talent, but Nick Nurse can rely on a clear formula, with an overall size and scale that significantly hampers opponents. Two ingredients that prevented the Hornets from gaining momentum, and which also weighed on their morale, by dint of seeing the rebounds (51 to 38) fall into the hands of OG Anunoby and the Raptors.

TOPS/FLOPS

Pascal Siakam. Player of the week in the East, the Cameroonian has regained all its impact. Used by Nick Nurse to launch the actions in the axis, it is sometimes a little over the phone, and it leads to some loss of ball (4) but his mixture of power and technique, especially on his support, hurt a lot Charlotte. He finished the game with 24 points at 10/16 shooting, 11 rebounds and 8 assists.

The 3-pointers of Fred VanVleet and Gary Trent Jr.. Charlotte used the “zone”, which has often hampered Toronto this season, to attempt a comeback. If it didn’t really work, it was because Gary Trent Jr. and especially Fred VanVleet made the 3-pointers that hurt in the second half, to calm the Hornets down.

LaMelo Ball. Just named All-Star, the leader suffered in the process. Admittedly, he compiled 15 points and 9 assists but he was angry with his shot (5/19 including 1/6 from afar) and he was especially greatly embarrassed by the Raptors’ “match-up zone”, as well as by the size and caliber of his evening defenders. What to lose 7 balloons when he could not find his usual openings on the pick-and-roll, and to be frustrated, with faults which quickly put Charlotte in the bonus in the fourth quarter.

THE FOLLOWING

Charlotte (28-27): the Hornets host the Bulls tomorrow night

Toronto (29-23): the Raptors can continue their streak in Oklahoma City

Hornets / 101 Shots Bounces
Players Minimum Shots 3 points LF O D T pd party Int bp CT +/- Points Rating
G. Hayward 6 1/3 1/2 0/0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 -6 3 2
Mr Bridges 42 8/17 2/7 7/7 1 5 6 5 4 3 3 1 -6 25 28
Mr. Plumlee 28 3/3 0/0 0/0 2 5 7 4 2 2 1 0 -11 6 18
L.Ball 44 5/19 1/6 4/5 3 1 4 9 5 4 7 0 -10 15 10
T. Rozier 41 8/19 4/11 0/0 0 5 5 6 2 0 1 0 -5 20 19
P. J. Washington 32 7/14 1/6 0/0 1 8 9 2 2 1 0 1 -5 15 21
I.Smith 8 0/3 0/0 0/0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 -14 0 -4
K. Oubre Jr. 38 7/17 0/8 3/4 2 4 6 2 3 1 0 1 -18 17 16
Total 39/95 9/40 14/16 9 29 38 28 19 11 13 3 101
Raptors / 116 Shots Bounces
Players Minimum Shots 3 points LF O D T pd party Int bp CT +/- Points Rating
P. Siakam 43 10/15 2/4 2/5 2 9 11 8 3 0 4 1 +9 24 32
O.Anunoby 38 8/18 2/7 2/4 5 4 9 2 3 3 2 0 +16 20 20
S. Barnes 31 4/9 1/2 6/7 0 8 8 3 5 1 2 0 +7 15 19
F.VanVleet 37 7/14 6/11 0/0 1 4 5 5 2 1 5 1 +2 20 20
G.Trent Jr. 34 8/16 4/9 4/5 0 3 3 2 3 2 2 1 -3 24 21
C. Boucher 19 3/5 0/1 2/2 2 4 6 0 2 1 0 2 +23 8 15
P.Achiuwa 15 1/3 0/1 3/4 2 2 4 1 0 1 2 0 +3 5 6
Y.Watanabe 1 0/0 0/0 0/0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 +1 0 0
K.Birch 8 0/2 0/0 0/0 1 1 2 0 1 0 0 0 +2 0 0
Mr. Flynn 1 0/0 0/0 0/0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 +1 0 0
D.Banton 11 0/1 0/0 0/2 0 2 2 0 1 0 0 0 +13 0 -1
S. Mykhailiuk 1 0/0 0/0 0/0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 +1 0 -1
Total 41/83 15/35 19/29 13 37 50 21 20 9 18 5 116

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