CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte Hornets coach James Borrego didn’t seem worried Monday afternoon before their game against the Raptors.
The Hornets, who have the league’s best offense, were in an offensive slump and he’s seen them get out of it before.
“Being consistent, trusting what we do offensively,” Borrego said of what his team was focusing on. “Shot quality is obviously important and confidence.”
But Monday wasn’t the night anything would change.
With Charlotte’s offense struggling again, Raptors guard Freed VanFleet took over in the fourth, and the Hornets dropped their fifth consecutive game, 116-101.
Guard Terry Rozier finished with a team-high 20 points, six assists and five rebounds.
The Hornets shot 41.4% from the floor.
When asked was he worried this could slip away, forward P.J. Washington said he wasn’t.
“In this business, you can lose five in a row and win 20 in a row,” he said. “We’ve just got to stick with it. We know we have a talented group.”
Meanwhile, the Raptors, who have the ninth best defense in the NBA, won their sixth straight. They had four players score 20 points or more.
The Hornets remain in ninth place in the Eastern Conference standings.
“Nobody is dying here,” Borrego said after the game. “Everybody is alright. That group believes. We’ve got to trust and keep believing and it’s going to turn.”
“This is not an X’s and O’s rotation issue. It’s just stay the course and it’s about the mindset.”
Here are some takeaways:
Dying by the 3
When you live by the 3, you die by it. And that’s what happened to the Hornets on Monday.
They finished 9 for 39 from behind the 3-point line.
Kelly Oubre, who scored 17 points off the bench, was 0-for-8 from 3. He got most of his points from slashing to the basket.
Bridges was 2 for 7 from 3, and didn’t make his first 3 until 6 minutes left in the fourth quarter. After making the basket, he threw his hands in the air, as if to ask himself what took so long.
“Just happy to make a 3,” he said. “Shots haven’t been falling for me or anybody.”
LaMelo Ball was 1 for 6 from 3.
The Hornets average 38.2 3-pointers attempted per game, which is sixth-most in the league. The shots haven’t fallen for them recently and it’s costing them.
“We’ve got to start games with a little bit more of that edge, with that mentality to create some offense off our defense until the three-ball comes back to us.”
“We’ve been a good three-ball shooting team. It’s been a strength of ours. This is where it goes some times and we’ve just got to find it again.”
Gordon Hayward injured
Gordon Hayward suffered a left ankle sprain in the first quarter.
He did not return to the game.
After the game, Borrego said he didn’t have an update yet on Hayward’s ankle. Hayward got an X-ray done after the game.
“It didn’t look get when he came off the floor, but I’m hopeful and we’ll see where we land tonight,” Borrego said.
Hayward suffered the injury when Raptors guard Gary Trent Jr. fell on his ankle as they battled for a rebound. He stayed on the floor under the basket for some time as play continued. When he finally got up, he limped off the floor and headed straight for the locker room.
Hayward was playing in his third game since returning from the league’s health and safety protocols due to COVID-19. He missed six consecutive games in the protocol.
“It’s tough. It’s like Gordon can’t get a break,” forward Miles Bridges said.
Hayward was often injured in his first year with the Hornets last season. He missed 28 out of 72 games during the 2020-21 season but has only missed seven games this season.
Hayward is averaging 16.4 points per game and 4.7 rebounds.
Good defense turned into easy offense
After trailing by 15 at halftime, the Hornets turned it up in the third quarter.
How did they do it?
They played great defense and contested shots. The Raptors, who shot 50% in the first half, were 9 for 23 in the third. The Raptors’ missed shots led to fast-break opportunities, and that’s when the Hornets are at their best.
“We were a little fragile to start that game for some reason,” Borrego said. “But we found our way as the game went along.”
At one point in the quarter, Ball stole a pass from VanFleet. Ball passed it up to Rozier, who passed it back to Ball for an alley-oop.
On the next possession, the Hornets corralled a rebound and found Oubre for a fast-break layup to cut the Raptors’ lead to 3 points.
The Hornets finished the quarter trailing by five points, 80-75.
LaMelo Ball struggling with turnovers
Before the game, Ball was named as an injury replacement to the NBA All-Star Game.
The news didn’t bring with it impressive play by the budding star.
He finished with 15 points and was 5 for 19 from the floor overall.
His biggest issue was turnovers. While he had nine assists, he had seven turnovers. Most came in the first three quarters.
Many of those turnovers led to fast-break points for the Raptors. Borrego has talked about the Hornets’ need for Ball to be more careful with the basketball. He controls the pace of the game, and when he’s struggling the Hornets do, too.
Monday night he was a little more forgiving.
“There are some where he’s trying to make the right play, and they had great hands and deflections,” Borrego said. “It’s probably some where he tried to do a little too much, but he’s doing it out of aggression and trying to create offense for his teammates.
“But we’ll look at them and watch them and continue to get better in that area.”
