Raptors Let One Slip in Charlotte as Clutch Magic Runs Dry
The Toronto Raptors had every reason to walk out of Charlotte with a win. They were facing a 5-14 Hornets squad that hadn’t led once in regulation, and they held a 13-point cushion at halftime.
But this one slipped through the cracks - and not just because of a cold shooting stretch or a missed defensive rotation. It was a reminder that in the NBA, no lead is safe when urgency fades and execution falters.
The Raptors came out firing, building that early double-digit lead behind a solid first quarter. But once the second quarter hit, the offense started to stall.
The ball movement slowed, the shot selection got a little too relaxed, and the Hornets - to their credit - kept pushing. Toronto’s offense, which had been humming, suddenly started settling.
It’s the kind of lull that can creep in when you’re facing a struggling opponent, and the Raptors paid the price for it.
Gradey Dick had some clean looks from deep but couldn’t get them to fall, finishing 1-for-4 from beyond the arc. The team’s belief in him hasn’t wavered, and that’s important - development takes patience, especially with young shooters. But on a night when every possession mattered, those missed opportunities loomed large.
Defensively, the Raptors had no answer for Miles Bridges down the stretch. Bridges sparked a 10-0 Hornets run late in the fourth, slicing into the Raptors' lead and setting up a tense finish.
LaMelo Ball didn’t have a standout game, but he didn’t need to - Charlotte’s role players did enough to keep the pressure on. And with the game on the line, Toronto’s usually reliable clutch-time play fell short.
The Raptors entered the night 7-2 in clutch situations this season, but this time, their late-game offense leaned too heavily on Brandon Ingram. It’s a formula that’s worked before, but when the defense keys in and the ball stops moving, it becomes easier to contain. Toronto needed a second option to step up - and it just didn’t happen.
One of the biggest defensive breakdowns came in the final moments of regulation. Kon Knueppel, who had already knocked down four threes on the night, was left wide open on the perimeter.
Whether it was a missed rotation, a communication breakdown, or just a gamble gone wrong, it was a costly lapse. With time still on the clock, the Raptors had options - close out hard, foul, anything but give him a clean look.
Instead, Knueppel made them pay.
Jakob Poeltl’s absence continues to be felt. We saw it in the loss to the Sixers earlier in the month, and it was evident again here.
Without their anchor in the middle, the Raptors’ defense loses some of its structure, and their rebounding takes a hit. Even with a winning record softening the blow, his absence is still a major factor.
Head coach Darko Rajaković has stayed consistent with his message - the goal is to get 1% better every day. That mindset doesn’t change after a tough loss like this. One game doesn’t define a team, but how they respond might.
Now, the Raptors turn the page quickly. They’re on the second night of a back-to-back, facing a high-stakes NBA Cup quarterfinal preview - and they’ll do it without Poeltl and RJ Barrett. That’s where the focus shifts: not on the game they just let get away, but on how they bounce back when the stakes get even higher.