Toronto Raptors vs Charlotte Hornets Final Score & Over/Under Result — Jan 7, 2026

RJ Barrett's 28-point, 7-rebound night powered Toronto past Charlotte, but the Raptors' 97-96 victory landed on the wrong side of the market—a decisive under that crushed oddsmakers' expectations. The combined 193 total fell 36.5 points short of the 229.5 pregame line, a margin so severe it vindicated DAGGER's pregame under call immediately. Despite Charlotte's recent offensive prowess (averaging 119.2 per game over its last 10 contests) and Toronto's relatively steady scoring (112.0 ppg), neither team found rhythm in a defensive grind that contradicted both teams' season trajectories and their head-to-head history, which had featured totals of 197, 229, and 218.

The back-and-forth nature masked the sluggish scoring environment. Toronto's opening quarter was its most explosive—25 combined with Charlotte's 22—but the second half told the real story. The third quarter bottomed out at 43 combined points, leaving the contest tilted toward the under well before the fourth-quarter surge. That final period did produce 55 combined points, the game's liveliest, but it arrived too late to salvage the total. Immanuel Quickley added 21 points for the Raptors, while Collin Sexton led Charlotte with 22; LaMelo Ball managed 15 points and 7 assists despite the Hornets' offensive struggles. The game's grinding nature—decided by a single point—illustrated how tightly wound both defenses played, ultimately rewarding the contrarian forecast over the inflated 229.5 consensus.