Barnes, Barrett, Brandon come up big in crunch time as Raptors down Hornets for fourth win in a row
It came down to the last second, but thanks to the Toronto Raptors’ wing trio’s clutch play, they held on for a 110-108 win over the Charlotte Hornets on Monday night.
With under a minute left, everything was tied at 108, and as the near-capacity Scotiabank Arena crowd rose to its feet, it was Brandon Ingram with the ball. Charlotte sent two defenders over to the 28-year-old, and given that he finished with a game-high 27 points, it wasn’t a bad idea. Ingram can hurt you in more ways than one; however, finding a 45-cutting RJ Barrett for his 15th and 16th points of the night for the lead.
On the ensuing defensive possession, Brandon came up big once again. Ingram got all the way up to block 7-foot-1 rookie centre Ryan Kalkbrenner, before Scottie Barnes sent the final Charlotte attempt flying the opposite way from the rim as time expired.
So to summarize the final minute of play, a breathtaking Barrett bucket before Brandon and Barnes’ blocks came up big at the end of the ball game.
The victory marked the Raptors’ fourth in a row and eighth in their last nine games, moving into third place in the Eastern Conference with a 9-5 record.
The game started with a bang, as it took all of five seconds for Ingram to come off a Jakob Poeltl screen and put Kalkbrenner on a poster (Ingram beating up on Kalkbrenner was a theme in this one).
Couple that with triples from the duo of RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley, and the Raptors jumped out to an early 8-3 lead.
Charlotte responded with an 8-3 run themselves, however, as rookie Kon Knueppel banged in a couple of triples (another theme in this one) to tie things up at 11 before a Darko Rajakovic timeout.
Then the bench came in, and as they have all year, performed well. Gradey Dick put up a quick five points, making a timely cut and knocking down a movement three, while Sandro Mamukelashvili also contributed five points.
Jamal Shead was also noticeable, but on the defensive end. Despite giving up at least six inches to LaMelo Ball, the 23-year-old stonewalled him multiple times and was great at the point of attack. Shead finished with as many points as he had steals (two), but his impact on the game went beyond the box score. Ultimately, the transitional lineups won their minutes again, carrying Toronto to a 28-24 lead after one.
A quick 4-0 spurt for Charlotte tied things up at 28 just a minute into the new frame, before Toronto responded with a strong 10-0 run themselves, all sparked by Scottie Barnes. The face of the franchise factored in on all 10 points, scoring six himself, as Toronto jumped back out in front.
But once again, Knueppel kept Charlotte around. Another three, plus a tip around the basket, helped Charlotte close the gap, as the fourth overall pick finished with a team-high 24 points to go with seven rebounds and three steals.
Toronto’s starters hit the floor in the final four minutes to finish the half, and they defended and pushed the pace. The unit forced four turnovers to close out the frame — most of them thanks to Barnes — finishing the half up 57-52.
It took only 40 seconds into the third quarter for Rajakovic to call a timeout, after Knueppel bagged a quick five points to tie things up at 57. It was the Ingram and Knueppel show for the next little while, as the pair traded buckets with LaMelo Ball and RJ Barrett, eventually getting into the action as well.
It was back-and-forth the rest of the frame, but ultimately the Hornets won the quarter by three and trailed the Raptors 85-83 heading into the fourth.
The first timeout of the final frame came via the Hornets two minutes in, after Jakob Poeltl and Immanuel Quickley helped Toronto regain a five-point lead. The highlight of the first half of the frame, however, was Ingram, who, for the second time in downtown Toronto, put Kalkbrenner on a poster.
That gave Toronto a four-point lead with six minutes left, as the game’s pace slowed down.
Toronto’s half-court game on both ends lost some steam, and Miles Bridges and the Hornets capitalized. The 27-year-old helped the Hornets get out to a 3-point lead with just under two minutes remaining, before a Barnes dunk tied up the game at 108.
And to give the cliff notes version of the ensuing final minute, a breathtaking Barrett bucket before Brandon and Barnes’ blocks came up big at the end of the ball game.
The Raptors now hit the road to take on the Philadelphia 76ers — the only team to beat the Raptors in their last nine games — before returning home for a four-game homestand against teams with a combined record of 14-41 (Washington Wizards, Brooklyn Nets, Cleveland Cavaliers, Indiana Pacers).
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