An explosive fourth quarter aided Charlotte in their comeback victory at Toronto, 110-106, on Wednesday night. The process was made more impressive after the Hornets were held to just 16 points in the third period. They followed it up by outscoring the Raptors 44-32 in the final 12 minutes. Marco Belinelli (10.7 ppg) was part of the charge with 11 of his 21 points coming in that final stretch. Charlotte still finds themselves three games out of the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference with seven games left.
Hornets blazing from 3-point range
While Belinelli was the spotlight in the comeback attempt, it was Charlotte's amazing shots from downtown that kept them in the contest.
The team went 16-for-32 from behind the arc. Belinelli was responsible for hitting two of them. Power forward Marvin Williams (11.6 ppg, 6.6 rpg) had the best day from the perimeter hitting 4-of-6 3-pointers and finishing with 18 points and 12 boards.
Other notables for the Hornets include Frank Kaminsky (11.6 ppg, 4.7 rpg) and Kemba Walker (22.9 ppg, 5.5 apg) draining three 3-pointers apiece. Kaminsky went a solid 3-for-5 from downtown while it took Walker twice as many attempts. Overall, Walker struggled with his efficiency as he went 7-for-25 from the field.
DeRozan not enough to lift Raptors
Toronto finds themselves as the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference, three games back from the top spot.
They don't lose any ground in the loss due to Boston also losing tonight, but they do see their six-game winning streak snap. Shooting guard DeMar DeRozan (27.2 ppg, 5.3 rpg) had another solid output with 28 points, 8 assists, and 6 rebounds. While he was inefficient from the field (made 11-of-24 shots), he made up for it by drilling 6-of-7 free throws.
Point guard Cory Joseph (9.3 ppg, 3.3 apg) complimented the performance with 18 points. That follows a slick double-double he threw down that consisted of 15 points and 13 assists against the Raptors' win over Orlando. Center Jonas Valanciunas (11.9 ppg, 9.5 rpg) had his first double-double in the past six games with 15 rebounds and 14 points.
