Hornets sting Raptors for fourth straight loss
Toronto got off to abysmal start despite warning
TORONTO — Finally home after a disappointing road trip, the Toronto Raptors were looking forward to playing in the friendly confines of the Air Canada Centre.
Turns out, home court isn’t always accommodating.
Kyle Lowry scored 24 points, but it wasn’t enough to carry the Raptors, who dropped a 103-95 decision to the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday for their fourth loss in a row.
Lou Williams finished with 15 points and just 4-for-15 shooting for Toronto (24-11), while Greivis Vasquez had 11 points and Jonas Valanciunas finished with 10.
Gerald Henderson scored 31 points to top the Hornets (1424) in their fourth straight victory. Kemba Walker added 29.
The game was the Raptors’ first in Toronto after a disappointing road trip that saw them win just two of six and fall out of the Eastern Conference lead. It was also the first of a welcome six straight games at home, where the Raptors had been riding a five-game winning streak — until Thursday.
As coach Dwane Casey said prior to tipoff, “Home won’t take care of you, you’ve got to take care of home,” and it was the Hornets that led for most of the night in front of another ACC sellout crowd of 19,800.
Charlotte was up by as much as 15 before taking a 75-66 advantage into the fourth quarter.
The Raptors, who’ve now lost five in a row to the Hornets, opened the fourth with a 7-0 run to pull within two points. But that was as close as they would come as the Charlotte answered virtually every Toronto basket the rest of the way.
A three-pointer by Walker 1:55 left to play put the Hornets up by 10 and sent many fans for the exits. But the Raptors rallied and a Patrick Patterson basket with 42 seconds to play pulled the Raptors to within four points, breathing some life into Toronto’s hopes for a victory.
But Walker snuffed that out with a long jumper that put Charlotte back up by six with 19 seconds to play and sealed Toronto’s fate.
The Hornets shot 48 per cent on the night to Toronto’s 40 per cent and outrebounded the Raptors 46-42. Charlotte’s starters also outscored Toronto’s by a whopping 89-46 margin.
Toronto played its 19th game without all-star DeMar DeRozan, who had hoped to play Thursday, but instead is now targeting next week for his return. The Raptors are playing it safe with DeRozan, who is out with a torn groin tendon.
“When the medical people say he can come back, he’ll come back,” Casey said prior to tipoff. “His career is more important ... I’ve seen two or three players in my time in the NBA lose their careers on a similar injury, by rushing back too quick. It’s going to be up to the medical people and up to DeMar when he does come back.”
Despite a warning by Casey to come out with a sense of urgency, the Raptors got off to an abysmal first quarter that saw the Hornets go up by 10 points. The Hornets doubled Toronto on the boards 16-8 and beat them 7-0 on second-chance points.