CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Miles Bridges scored a career-high 45 points but the Charlotte Hornets were unable to fend off a frantic comeback from the Toronto Raptors and suffered their ninth loss in a row.
Charlotte (10-40) led by as much as 15 points in the third quarter but RJ Barrett and the Raptors (18-33) pushed through to win 123-117, essentially clinching the game with around half a minute still left in the game. Bridges and Martin missed a trio of 3-pointers and had shots blocked in the final two minutes, killing Charlotte's hopes at the win.
Barrett led Toronto with 23 points. Seven Raptors hit double-digit points as the team made 52% of its shots from the field.
Bridges had 45 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists in a career day. The total beats his previous career high of 41 points which he scored on Monday against the Los Angeles Lakers. It's the eighth most by any player in franchise history and his 86 points in consecutive games is the most since Kemba Walker had 103 in two 2018 games.
Rookie Brandon Miller had 20 points and Cody Martin had 19 points for the Hornets.
The meltdown loss comes just a day ahead of the NBA trade deadline, which many figure the Hornets will be active in. Mitch Kupchak, the Hornets' general manager, previously said that no player is untradeable.
Bridges, P.J. Washington, and Gordon Hayward are some of the rumored names to be on the move. Washington had an abysmal night, shooting two of 11 from the field and missing all five 3-point attempts. Hayward was out with an injury.
The Hornets led for the majority of the game, holding a 36-27 lead after the first quarter after a 15-3 run to open the game. Bridges had 15 points in the period.
Toronto pushed back a bit in the second quarter but the Hornets held on for a 60-54 lead going into the locker room. It was the first time in four games that Charlotte held a halftime lead.
Bridges accounted for 20 of the 37 points the Hornets scored in the third quarter as Charlotte looked to keep up where they left off in the first half. The only problem was that the Raptors also erupted in the period with 37 points of their own.
The Hornets pulled out to an eight-point lead in the fourth quarter but a series of fouls and turnovers allowed Toronto to go on an 11-0 run that gave the Raptors their first lead of the game with seven minutes remaining.
Charlotte did its best to trade the lead with Toronto the rest of the way but missed 3-pointers and blocked shots plagued the Hornets' chances in the final two minutes.
After a winless homestand, the Hornets will next face the Milwaukee Bucks on the road on Friday. Charlotte will look to avoid its second 10-game losing streak this season.