The dynamic duo of Tre Mann and Cody Martin were stinging the Raptors and combined for 52 points off the bench for Charlotte Wednesday night as the Hornets outlasted the visiting Toronto Raptors 138-133, for their first home win of the season at the Spectrum Center.
Mann scored a team-high 27 points and Martin was not far behind him with 25, as the Hornets snapped a two-game losing streak. Nick Richards was a man amongst boys, adding a double-double with 24 points, 14 rebounds and four blocked shots. LaMelo Ball was the true definition of a point guard, finding his own shot and getting his teammates involved in the flow of the offense, scoring 19 points and six assists. Reserve Grant Williams had 17 points with five dimes.
The Hornets, who found their shooting stroke as a team, knocking down 20 shots from 3-point range, and scored at least 30 points in each quarter.
RJ Barrett, who is in his first full year with his home town team, racked up a game-high 31 points and eight assists, Gradey Dick had 30 points and Jakob Poeltl posted 20 points and 16 rebounds to pace the Raptors, who are on the struggle bus at the moment having lost three games in a row.
The Raptors looked a step slow and completely out of sync offensively in the first quarter in their first game without Scottie Barnes, who will miss at least three weeks with an orbital fracture. Toronto carelessly gave the ball away seven times leading to 10 Hornets points and trailed by 14, 30-16, before finding their groove and exploding for 43 points in the second quarter.
Toronto also got 13 points from Chris Boucher, 11 apiece from Davion Mitchell and Jonathan Mogbo and 10 from Ochai Agbaji.
The Raptors shot a blistering 57.1 percent from the floor. Poeltl made 10 of 14 shots and Dick finished 11-for-17 to help make up for the team’s cold shooting, 32.1 percent (9-for-28) on 3-pointers.
Point came in bunches for both teams. Toronto, which trailed by as many as 23 points with less than seven minutes to go in the second quarter, took the lead with just over six minutes remaining in the third quarter.
Charlotte, who is not known as an offensive juggernaut, broke 100 points by the end of the third to lead by seven, 103-96, entering the fourth. Mann’s 3-pointer gave the Hornets a 109-97 lead early in the frame, but the Raptors made several runs, including Barrett’s five straight points to pull within six, 127-121.
Leading by three, Ball penetrated the left side of the lane and scored to make it a two-possession game with 29 seconds left. It was a free throw shooting contest from there.
Mitchell made a crucial free throw and a layup to close within 130-127. Two free throws each from Mann, Martin and Williams helped seal the win for the hosts.
Charlotte looks like a completely different team when Ball is on the floor. Although he has a nasty habit of turning the ball over, there is no question about it, he makes everyone around him better. It was evident when he sparked a 12-0 surge late in the third quarter by scoring five straight points, grabbing a steal and assisting on Mann’s 3-pointer as Charlotte went from down five to up 103-96.
The Raptors host LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night.
The Hornets host Jaylen Brown and the Boston Celtics in back-to-back games Friday and Saturday night.
