Toronto stayed within striking distance all game and stole this one late.
Charlotte led until the midway point of the fourth, going up 15 at one point. The Hornets have only taken leads into the second half nine times this season, three of them coming against the Raptors. Miles Bridges especially was scoring with little resistance, finishing with a career high 45 points.
Darko Rajakovic was asked about a third quarter timeout down 80-65 to stop the momentum.
RJ Barrett
“We weren’t playing any defence. I wasn’t playing any defence.” Barrett said in response to Darko’s heated timeout.
RJ missed the New Orleans debacle managing his knee injury. Barrett helped to give Toronto its first lead of the game by finally providing stops vs Bridges, making a couple of timely threes and finding a driving lane past Bridges on offence.
Barrett finished with 23 points, six boards and five assists. RJ’s consistency since the trade continues to be impressive. Through five weeks as a Raptor, he’s already gone through two different six game road trips.
When asked about looking forward to playing a home game on Friday, Barrett responded “Absolutely. I forgot what that feels like.”
Jakob Poeltl
Poeltl added 12 points, 12 rebounds and a block in the win, with two key plays down the stretch. First, Jak tipped in Immanuel Quickley’s miss to give the Raptors a five point lead with under two minutes left. Then Poeltl stuffed a Bridges drive, as he went cold down the stretch.
Sidenotes
- Many wondered in real time why Gradey Dick wasn’t closing out the game. Dick played 15 minutes and made both of his threes, finishing with six points. The Raptors won anyway but Gradey’s minutes should be in the 20s at minimum. His percentages continue to rise as the season progresses.
- Trade Deadline is today! Has Bruce Brown, Chris Boucher or even Gary Trent Jr. played their last game as a Raptor? Boucher was a DNP-CD for the third time in the last four games.
- Charlotte is now on a nine game losing streak and owns a league worst 3-27 record since December 11th.
Up Next: Raptors host Houston on Friday, but Fred VanVleet’s return will have to wait until next season.
