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
2023-12-23
Hornets Nearly Overcome Catastrophic 3rd Quarter, Drop 7th Straight
Sam Perley, NBA.com/Hornets
Nick Smith Jr. Has Breakout Game, Martin Returns, More Injuries to Rozier and Miller
A dreadful momentum-shifting third quarter for the Charlotte Hornets turned out to be a tad too much to clean up in Saturday night’s 102-95 home loss to the Denver Nuggets.
Miles Bridges (22) and PJ Washington (20) both produced 20-point showings in the loss, with the latter pouring in 13 in the second quarter (season high for any quarter). The star of the night for the Hornets though was rookie Nick Smith Jr., who erupted for a career-high 19 points, 17 of which came in the fourth quarter on 6-of-8 shooting (5-of-6 from 3-point range).
There was some good injury news coming into the game with the long-awaited return of Cody Martin (left knee injury recovery) from an 11-month absence. But as one body reentered the rotation, two more hit the sidelines with Terry Rozier (right knee soreness) scratched before tipoff and Brandon Miller (right ankle sprain) exiting in the first quarter.
Charlotte played a pretty solid first half on both ends, taking a 60-54 lead into break. Everything went way off course in the third though, as Denver opened with a 25-1 run and won the frame, 30-9, to take a 15-point lead into the fourth. The Hornets shot a frigid 2-of-22 over the 12-minute span and didn’t make a basket until there were only 58 seconds left on the clock.
Still down 15 at the 8:41 mark of the fourth, the Hornets ripped off an 18-6 run – Smith went 4-of-4 from deep during this stretch – to trim Denver’s advantage down to three. A bunch of fruitless possessions soon followed though, as Charlotte managed just one single point over the final three-and-a-half minutes and lost for the ninth time in 10 meetings with Denver.
“In the first half, we had really good ball movement,” said Hornets Head Coach Steve Clifford. “We’re getting the ball going towards the basket, we had good unselfish play. In the third, we did none of it. We went down playing iso, the ball stayed on one side of the floor. They’re too good and too disciplined to get good shots that way. We had some open looks, then we had some drives that we didn’t finish. That, to me, and the turnovers, it’s hard to beat a good team when you turn the ball over that many times.”
Per Stathead, Smith became the fifth rookie in franchise history to have at least five 3-pointers off the bench and the only one overall since at least 1996-97 to have five in a single quarter. His 17 fourth-quarter points are also tied with Utah’s Keyonte George for the most by any NBA rookie in any quarter this season. Outside of Smith (5-of-7), the Hornets shot just 3-of-21 from 3-point range (14.3%) and committed 18 turnovers for 23 Denver points.
“I missed a few early,” said Smith, following his big night. “I just wanted to keep my rhythm and just keep taking the open ones. Just having movement on offense, that’s my biggest thing. My teammates found me, and I was able to knock down some shots.”
Michael Porter Jr. scored a team-high 22 points to lead the Nuggets to their seventh victory in eight outings. Jamal Murray (20 points and career-high-tying 12 rebounds) and Nikola Jokić (18 points and 10 rebounds) each double-doubled. The two-time Serbian MVP Jokić was also one assist shy from notching his 11th triple-double of the campaign. With the win, Denver improved its record to 6-1 on the second night of back-to-backs this year.
The Hornets will now embark on a season-long six-game road trip starting with the LA Clippers on Tuesday, Dec. 26 beginning at 10:30 PM ET. Catch all the action on Bally Sports Southeast and WFNZ 92.7 FM.