Minus Kemba Walker, Charlotte Hornets lose again on the road

The Charlotte Hornets lacked their All-Star point guard. The Toronto Raptors’ version was emphatically present.

Kyle Lowry scored 36 points, leading the Raptors to a 126-113 victory over the Hornets at Air Canada Centre. The Hornets -- losers of their last three -- played without Kemba Walker, who sat out with a contusion of his left shoulder.

Hornets coach Steve Clifford said post-game he was “shocked” by his team’s lack of effort and preparation in the first half, after three days without games. He said the loss had nothing to do with Walker’s absence, and everything to do with a lack of readiness and focus Wednesday. Clifford said that’s his responsibility.

Lowry, a three-time All-Star, made eight of his 11 attempts from 3-point range.

This looked like it would be a blowout when the Raptors built a 19-point halftime lead. However, the Hornets closed to within two in the third quarter. Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan hit a pull-up jump shot with about 1 1/2 minutes left to spread the lead to 11 and clinch the victory.

The Raptors improved to 13-7. The Hornets fell to 8-12.

Three who mattered

Lowry: He was a huge factor in the Raptors’ 58 percent shooting in the first half, making 6-of-9 from the field and 3-of-4 from 3-point range.

Dwight Howard: The Hornets’ center finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds.

DeRozan: He finished with 30 points on 14-of-22 shooting.

Observations

▪  The Hornets played their first game this season without Walker. He injured his left shoulder Saturday in a collision with San Antonio Spurs forward LaMarcus Aldridge. He couldn’t practice Monday or Tuesday and was ruled out at shootaround Wednesday morning in Toronto.

▪  With Walker out, Michael Carter-Williams got his first start as a Hornet. That moved up rookie Malik Monk to backup point guard.

▪  A big factor in the Raptors’ 19-point halftime lead: Toronto outscored the Hornets 36-12 in the lane in the first half.

▪  Clifford said post-game Walker is still very sore, so barring a dramatic improvement Thursday, he’s a long shot to play versus the Heat.

▪  Hornets reserves Jeremy Lamb and Frank Kaminsky each scored 18 points.on a combined 14-of-26 from the field.

Worth mentioning

▪  Wednesday was the first game reserve guard Julyan Stone was available to play since Oct. 20. Stone was recovering from a hamstring strain.

▪  The Raptors were outscored 18-2 in the first four minutes of the second half. Toronto’s only basket in that span was a put-back by center Jonas Valanciunas.

▪  The Hornets entered the fourth quarter down eight. What kept the Hornets in the game through three quarters was free-throw differential: The Hornets took 29 to the Raptors’ 10.

Report card

B OFFENSE: Solid scoring, considering Walker -- by far their best offensive weapon -- missed the game.

F DEFENSE: The Raptors’ 71 first-half points were 10 short of matching the most scored on the Hornets in franchise history

C- COACHING: This team has won just once in their 10 road games.

This story was originally published November 29, 2017 at 10:11 PM with the headline "Minus Kemba Walker, Charlotte Hornets lose again on the road."