Hornets 99 FinalBox Score 114 Raptors
A+ S. Barnes39 MIN, 22 PTS, 17 REB, 7 AST, 0 STL, 7-14 FG, 1-2 3FG, 7-7 FT, 3 BLK, 5 TO, 22 +/-Scottie’s energy and motor today were just outstanding, you could tell he was trying to will this team back into the game. The way he fought for so many rebounds, the way he was barreling toward the rim, Scottie was doing all he could to win this game and he succeeded. He bruised Charlotte on the inside, dominated them on the glass, and was a passing wizard all night as well. His defense was also outstanding as well, in great help position all night. 
A+ P. Siakam36 MIN, 27 PTS, 8 REB, 8 AST, 1 STL, 11-16 FG, 0-1 3FG, 5-6 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, 2 +/-Pascal Siakam did not let anyone stop him tonight in the second half. In the first half he wasn’t really going like that but in the second half it was like a conga line to the rim for Pascal and it was his usual array of tough middies and silky smooth off the glass layups. He was also drawing doubles and finding his teammates. 
C- J. Poeltl15 MIN, 4 PTS, 1 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 2-2 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 4 TO, -12 +/-Early on in this game it was clear that Jakob was struggling, his defense was poor, he was giving up a lot of rebounds and he wasn’t offering much offensively either, this led to him not playing as many minutes as he usually does unfortunately. 
C O. Anunoby32 MIN, 5 PTS, 2 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 2-10 FG, 0-5 3FG, 1-1 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, 3 +/-Poor offensive performance from OG, and his defense tonight was not at the level we are used to seeing it tonight, could not get it going from three and his self created looks weren’t going either. 
B D. Schroder34 MIN, 13 PTS, 0 REB, 5 AST, 0 STL, 4-6 FG, 3-5 3FG, 2-2 FT, 0 BLK, 3 TO, 12 +/-Dennis was pretty hot from three tonight, but once again it was not a strong defensive performance from him at the point of attack, his scoring mostly came in the third quarter as well. 
A+ G. Trent Jr.35 MIN, 22 PTS, 10 REB, 3 AST, 1 STL, 9-17 FG, 4-10 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 25 +/-Undoubtedly Gary’s best game of the season and the most he has scored this season, he was blazing from three and he was also creating his own shot as he hit multiple floaters and middies over Charlotte defenders, perfect spark off the bench tonight. 
C- M. Flynn16 MIN, 2 PTS, 3 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 1-6 FG, 0-4 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 4 +/-Flynn had a pretty mundane night, he had plenty of good looks both at the rim and on the perimeter but just couldn’t get them to drop, the process was there though. 
A P. Achiuwa18 MIN, 12 PTS, 7 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 5-9 FG, 0-1 3FG, 2-4 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 12 +/-Nice defensive game from Precious, it was his versatility on that end that led to the Hornets offense being slowed down as the game progressed, he also had some great finishes tonight as well. 
B+ C. Boucher15 MIN, 7 PTS, 3 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 3-6 FG, 0-1 3FG, 1-2 FT, 1 BLK, 0 TO, 7 +/-Masterful cutting from Boucher tonight, and he just lingered around the rim in the perfect spot for his teammates especially Scottie to find him near the basket for nice finishes. 
A Darko RajakovicGood call by Darko to bring in the smaller lineups in order to put a lid on Charlottes offense, the speed from the smaller lineups was very much needed. Things We Saw - The bench scoring today was magnificent, Gary found his stroke, Precious looked good once again, and Boucher was the ideal tertiary player as well.
- Another matchup where Darko had no problem sitting Jakob and it worked out, something to keep an eye on.
- Scottie and Pascal had another game where the synergy between them just seemed really great.
Source: https://www.raptorsrepublic.com/2023/12 ... ptors-114/