Scottie Barnes put Toronto on his back Friday night, and the Raptors kept feeding the hot hand until the final horn. It still wasn’t enough.
Barnes poured in a career-high 41 points in a 121-114 loss to the Magic, adding five rebounds and five assists. As Josh Elijah Nitsopoulos of Raptors On SI writes, Barnes became Toronto’s answer whenever the offense stalled, bullying smaller defenders in the post and knocking down his midrange jumper.
The Raptors needed more support around him, and they didn’t get it. RJ Barrett struggled to find his shot and also committed costly turnovers, while Orlando buried 18 of 34 attempts from beyond the arc.
There was at least one bright spot in the frontcourt. Jakob Poeltl, after picking up two quick fouls, returned later in the first quarter and settled in.
He finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds for his first double-double of the season, and Toronto outscored Orlando by eight with him on the floor. The Raptors head to the Lakers on Sunday.
In Indiana, Andrew Nembhard kept doing his part to move the Pacers’ offense, but the other end of the floor kept biting them.
Nembhard followed up Wednesday’s 18-point, 14-assist outing with 22 points and nine assists in Friday’s 145-125 loss to the Heat. He knocked down five of eight threes, yet Miami still shot nearly 60 percent overall.
As Tyler Smith of Pacers On SI notes, Nembhard’s bigger offensive role also means using energy Indiana normally needs from him on defense, where he’s often asked to take on the opponent’s top scorer.
The Pacers were already stretched thin. Tyrese Haliburton and T.J. McConnell remain out, Ivica Zubac missed a third straight game, and Obi Toppin was added to the injury list with back spasms.
Indiana had 11 available players in its fourth game in six days across three cities. The Pacers opened reasonably well, but Miami took over over the final three quarters and sent Indiana to its fourth loss.
Charlotte had looks Friday. They just didn’t go down.
The Hornets shot 30 percent from the field in a 95-79 loss to the Wizards, dropping to 3-3. Schuyler Callihan of Hornets On SI writes that the misses came on plenty of clean opportunities, with Charlotte going 6-of-23 from deep in the first half and then 3-of-17 in the third quarter.
Brandon Miller led the way with 19 points, but he needed 24 shots to get there, finishing 7-of-24 overall and 3-of-13 from three. Naz Reid added 12 points and 11 rebounds in his first game back since Charles Lee benched him for the second half against Detroit.
The Hornets also had trouble staying out of foul trouble on defense. Anthony Davis took eight of Washington’s 19 first-half free throws and finished with 25 points and 13 rebounds.
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Hornets Need More Around Brandon Miller In Crucial Pistons Rematch
Brandon Miller gave Charlotte plenty to work with in the first meeting with Detroit, pouring in 31 points in a game the Hornets still could not finish off. Now the teams meet again with Charlotte sitting at 3-4 and trying to steady itself against a Pistons group that has opened the season 5-1, making this one feel like an early test of whether the Hornets can turn a strong individual effort into a more complete team performance.
The challenge is bigger because Charlotte is already dealing with two hamstring absences, which has thinned the rotation and put more pressure on the supporting cast around Miller. The Hornets do not need a miracle so much as a few more reliable scoring nights and cleaner minutes from the rest of the roster, especially in a rematch where Detroit already knows what Miller can do and will be ready for it. [Read more 🡒]
Hornets Just Put Tidjane Salan In A Tough Roster Spot
Tidjane Salans recent night offered a small reminder of why the Hornets remain intrigued by him. He logged 12 minutes and flashed a few promising moments, the kind of brief run that keeps a young player on the radar even when his role is still in flux.
The bigger issue is what Charlotte has already done with his contract. The Hornets have reportedly declined the fourth-year option on Salans deal, which changes the timeline on his future and puts the team in a more delicate spot with a player it may still want to keep around. Charlotte could look to bring him back on a friendlier deal, but with his contract situation shifting, he also becomes a name to watch as the February trade deadline approaches. [Read more 🡒]
Hornets Face A Bigger Problem Than Another Close Loss
Another close loss left Charlotte with the same familiar frustration, this time after the Hornets let a late lead slip away against Philadelphia. The result was disappointing enough on its own, but it also reinforced a bigger issue hanging over the team right now: the Hornets are still trying to clean up the kind of late-game mistakes that keep turning winnable nights into losses.
Moussa Diabat pointed to execution as the problem, and the timing makes the concern even sharper with Charlotte still waiting on injured contributors Coby White, Kon Knueppel and Grant Williams to come back. Those absences matter, and the hope inside the locker room is that the roster will look more complete soon, but the Hornets also know the current stretch is exposing how much sharper they need to be before that help arrives. [Read more 🡒]