Kyle and the kids come through
Poeltl, Wright help Raptors rally from 17 points down with DeRozan on the bench
> RAPTORS 90 > HORNETS 85
Jakob Poeltl is used to standing on the sidelines cheering alongside fellow Toronto Raptors youngsters, cheering on his teammates as old hands such as DeMar DeRozan and Jonas Valanciunas get the job done.
But the roles were reversed on Wednesday, as fresh faces such as Poeltl and Delon Wright put in a veteran fourth-quarter performance to ensure a 90-85 win over Charlotte Hornets, snapping a three-game losing streak in the process.
DeRozan and Valanciunas were on their feet on the bench as Poeltl, Wright, Kyle Lowry, DeMarre Carroll and Corey Joseph outscored the Hornets 33-10 in the final12 minutes.
“Today it was the other way around and I think it’s amazing that our veterans that didn’t play at the end still cheered us young guys on like that,” Poeltl said.
It wasn’t quite the changing of the guard Raptors fans might have expected here Wednesday night. Serge Ibaka, Toronto’s latest recruit, didn’t play after coach Dwane Casey elected not to put added pressure on his new power forward following a taxing 36 hours full of travel and emotion following Tuesday’s trade with the Orlando Magic. Toronto was also without Patrick Patterson for a sixth consecutive game thanks to a bruised left knee.
The Hornets limped into the Air Canada Centre with a record over its last 15 games even more dismal than Toronto’s, but a discombobulated Raptors offence made Charlotte look good for much of the game.
But the Raptors will take a flipped switch where it can get it after a week and three quarters of floundering.
“We were searching and searching and went to the fountain of youth, and those guys came through and played their behinds off,” Casey said.
The Raptors were up 31-20 after the first quarter. And then, it all stalled again: Thirteen points in the second quarter, and only 14 in the third. Entering the fourth, Charlotte had built a 17-point lead, and you could hear boos in the Air Canada Centre.
And then, the run. With DeRozan and Valanciunas benched, the Raptors outscored the Hornets 25-2 to open the fourth. Charlotte couldn’t make a shot; Wright had eight points in the run on his way to a season-high 11, and two steals; Poeltl added two and six rebounds, and wasn’t a liability defensively. It was tied 82-82 with 1:54 left, and Lowry untied it. Toronto was up 87-85 with 29 seconds left, and needed a play.
The Raptors ran a pick-and-roll, and the ball ended up in Poeltl’s hands. He turned, ran into a defender, and found Carroll for an open three-pointer from the wing. Ballgame. Poeltl, who had seven assists all of his rookie season, had two while playing the entire fourth quarter.
“That last play we thought about getting another defender in there for Jakob,” said Casey. “Hell naw. He was ready to play, and he was ready to go.”