Continuing the new format from last month, I will be pinning the post-game thread for this December’s Hornets games. The correct schedule is Most of the scheduled games are now posted in the attached image from prosportsbackgrounds.com
Continuing the new format from last month, I will be pinning the post-game thread for this December’s Hornets games. The correct schedule is Most of the scheduled games are now posted in the attached image from prosportsbackgrounds.com
2023-12-20
Hornets’ Defense Run Off The Floor By Fast-Paced Pacers
Sam Perley, NBA.com/Hornets
Rozier Scores 25 and Passes Glen Rice, Charlotte Allows Season-High 144 PTS in Indiana
Even with a few more bodies available, the Charlotte Hornets couldn’t come close to curbing the Indiana Pacers’ high-octane offense in Wednesday night’s 144-113 road loss.
Terry Rozier got within striking distance of a triple double in the loss, finishing with a game-high-tying 25 points, a season-high nine rebounds and seven assists over 35 minutes of play. During the first quarter, Rozier’s sixth point moved him into fifth place on the franchise’s all-time scoring leaderboard (now at 5,672 points), passing three-time NBA All-Star Glen Rice.
Both sides started off going back and forth as the first half progressed, though it was Indiana that ended the second quarter on a 13-4 run to take a 71-60 halftime advantage. The Pacers’ dribble-penetration-based offense kept pumping in the third, getting 19 points from Buddy Hield in the frame to go up by 19 heading into the fourth. Charlotte simply had no answers – especially on the defensive end – the rest of the way, securing its sixth consecutive defeat.
“They’re (Indiana) a handful and they’re good,” said Hornets Head Coach Steve Clifford on Bally Sports Southeast’s postgame broadcast. “You could tell right from the beginning that they were on it. Our first quarter was our best quarter and they had 31 [points]. The last two minutes of the first half were critical right there. We could never make it hard on them defensively. When they’re scoring like that, the fouling, the offensive rebounds, it weighs on you.”
Rookie Brandon Miller (21 points) notched his fifth career 20-point game and Miles Bridges added 19 points in his return from a one-game absence. Gordon Hayward was also back after missing the past two contests with a stomach virus, chipping in 11 points – 10 in the third quarter – on 3-of-5 shooting and three assists in just under 24 minutes.
Indiana shot 61.3% from the field – its second-highest single-game mark of the season – 18-of-39 from 3-point range (46.2%) and sank 28-of-30 free-throw attempts (93.3%). The Hornets’ efficiency wasn’t exactly terrible (47.4%, 25.8% on 3-point attempts), but nowhere near where it needed to be to keep up with the NBA’s leader in offensive rating and pace. The 144 points allowed were also a season high for a Charlotte opponent and tied for the third-highest opposing total in a regulation game in team history, per Stathead.
Hield finished with 25 points to help Indiana snap its four-game losing streak and tally just its third win in the past 11 head-to-head regular season meetings with Charlotte. Tyrese Haliburton (19 points and a game-high 13 assists) recorded his 18th double-double of the campaign and reserve Aaron Nesmith duplicated his 19-point showing on a perfect 6-of-6 shooting. Bench points were very one-sided as well, with the Pacers outscoring the Hornets, 70-33, in this area.
The Hornets will have a couple days off before hosting the reigning NBA Champion Denver Nuggets on Saturday, Dec. 23 beginning at 7 PM ET at Spectrum Center. Follow all the action on Bally Sports Southeast and WFNZ 92.7 FM.