Hornets End Raptors’ Streak in Overtime Thriller 118-111
It was the kind of night where hope felt like a distant memory. The Hornets down 17 points in the first half, with the red-hot Toronto Raptors in town on a nine-game tear, the Spectrum Center crowd had every reason to start thinking about beating the traffic. For the Charlotte Hornets, a team struggling to find its footing this season, this looked like another chapter in a familiar, frustrating story.
But then, something shifted. It wasn’t a sudden tidal wave, but a slow, grinding current that began to pull the game back toward them. This wasn’t just another loss. This was a statement. In a stunning display of resilience and late-game heroics, the Hornets clawed their way back, forcing overtime and ultimately snapping Toronto’s streak with a 118-111 victory that echoed with defiance.
A Tale of Two Halves
The game started as a nightmare. The Raptors, playing with the swagger of a team that had forgotten how to lose, jumped out to a 26-9 lead. Scottie Barnes was a force of nature, a one-man wrecking crew on his way to a monstrous 30-point, 12-rebound night. The Hornets’ offense looked disjointed, their shots weren’t falling, and the energy in the building felt more like a library than a basketball arena. It seemed destined to be a long night for the home team.
Yet, as the minutes ticked by, the Hornets refused to break. They chipped away, point by agonizing point. Even with LaMelo Ball on a minutes restriction and having an off-night, and Brandon Miller struggling to find his rhythm, others stepped into the void. This was a team effort born of necessity, a gritty, blue-collar comeback that was anything but pretty. They were down, but they were never out. With less than six minutes left in regulation, they still trailed by 12, a mountain that felt insurmountable against a team like Toronto. But the climb had already begun.
The Shot That Changed Everything
Every great comeback has its signature moment, a single play that freezes time and shifts the narrative. On this night, that moment belonged to a rookie, Kon Knueppel. With the clock bleeding away and the Hornets down by three, the ball found its way to the young guard in the corner. It wasn’t a clean look. It was a leaning, contested prayer of a shot with a defender in his face.
As the ball left his fingertips, 17,060 fans held their collective breath. Swish. The net barely moved. The arena erupted. Knueppel had tied the game with just 10 seconds on the clock, breathing life back into a team and a city that desperately needed it. It was the kind of clutch play that turns prospects into legends, a shot that single-handedly forced the game into an extra period and gave the Hornets a chance to steal a victory that seemed impossible just minutes earlier.
Bridges Takes Over in Overtime
If Knueppel’s shot was the spark, Miles Bridges was the inferno that consumed the Raptors in overtime. Playing with a fierce determination, Bridges owned the extra five minutes. He was relentless, attacking the rim, draining jumpers, and refusing to be denied. He poured in 10 of his game-high 35 points in the overtime period alone, shooting a perfect 4-for-4 from the field when it mattered most.
“He saved me,” Bridges later said of Knueppel, acknowledging that his own missed free throw could have cost them the game. But in overtime, Bridges needed no saving. He put the team on his back, scoring with an efficiency and a will that Toronto simply couldn’t match. Every time the Raptors tried to answer, Bridges had a response, ensuring that the rookie’s heroic shot wouldn’t go to waste. It was a superstar performance that capped off an improbable team victory and secured the Hornets’ first winning streak of the season. This wasn’t just a win; it was a declaration that the Hornets have a fight in them that a 6-14 record simply can’t measure.
