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    19 months ago

    2024-02-07

    Bridges Resets Career High, Hornets Drop Ninth Straight Game

    Sam Perley, NBA.com/Hornets


    Charlotte’s 15-PT Lead Slips Away in 2nd Half; Toronto Rides Fast-Break, Second-Chance Points


    A second straight 40-plus-point performance courtesy of Miles Bridges still wasn’t enough for the Charlotte Hornets to evade a 123-117 home loss to Toronto on Wednesday evening, which extended their losing streak to nine games.

    Two nights after his then career-high 41 points, Bridges topped that mark with 45 points on 17-of-27 shooting, six 3-pointers, eight rebounds and seven assists in the defeat. This made Bridges just the third different player in franchise history with back-to-back 40-point games in the same season (Glen Rice 2x, Kemba Walker), and the third to ever reach 45 points in a single game (Walker 6x, Rice), per Basketball Reference.

    Charlotte shot 67% and outscored Toronto, 36-27, in the opening frame, securing its first lead at the end of the first quarter since Jan. 24 (tied for team’s second largest of the season, too). Later, coming out of halftime with the Hornets now up six, Bridges caught fire and sank 9-of-10 shots for 21 points, though the team’s cushion stayed the same heading into the fourth.

    Toronto ripped off a 15-5 run to open the closing quarter, but the Hornets immediately countered with a 9-4 spurt to retake a 113-110 lead with 4:45 left on the clock. The Raptors would volley right back though, launching a 13-4 stretch to end the game. RJ Barrett’s go-ahead right corner 3-pointer at the 2:33 mark and a second-chance tip-in by Jakob Poeltl in the final 90 seconds stood out as two especially decisive baskets in clutch time.

    Though the Raptors had runs to open and close the fourth, Hornets Head Coach Clifford Steve Clifford said the game swung in the third quarter, when the team led by as many as 15 points. “In the first half, we defended well. They had two fastbreak points at halftime, and three second-chance points. In the second half, they had 10 second-chance points and eight fastbreak points. You’ve got to take care of those areas. The other part is, we’ve got to keep playing the same offense. The ball’s got to move and hit the paint.”

    Brandon Miller (20) notched his sixth straight 20-point game, tying Alonzo Mourning for the second-longest streak by a rookie in franchise history, per Basketball Reference. Back from a two-game absence, Cody Martin recorded a season-high 19 points, five rebounds and a season-high-tying eight assists, while Bryce McGowens added another 10 points off the bench. Charlotte scored only 40 paint points on 55.6% shooting (20-of-36) and sank a somewhat costly 13-of-20 shots from the free-throw line (65%).

    All five Toronto starters – Barrett (23), Scottie Barnes (18), Immanuel Quickley (18), Gary Trent Jr. (14) and Poeltl (12) – scored in double figures, while two reserves in Dennis Schröder (16) and Bruce Brown (12) did so, as well. The Raptors shot 53.1% and 51.5% (17-of-33) from 3-point range to become the 13th opponent in the past 16 games to shoot at least 50% against Charlotte.

    The Hornets will start another back-to-back on the road against the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday, Feb. 9 beginning at 8 PM ET. Follow all the action on Bally Sports Southeast and WFNZ 92.7 FM.