Rozier Has Spectacular 39-PT Showing, Couple Bad Possessions Cost Charlotte in Crunch Time
Another made shot here, maybe a different sequence of plays there and the Charlotte Hornets would have had themselves a thrilling win in their first appearance at Spectrum Center in over two weeks. Instead, the homecoming was spoiled by the Chicago Bulls in a 119-112 overtime loss on Monday night.
Terry Rozier led the charge with a game-high 39 points on 10-of-18 shooting, seven 3-pointers, a career-best 12-of-12 clip from the free-throw line, three rebounds and eight assists in the loss. This performance bumped Rozier’s seasonal 30-point game total to six, exactly half of which have now come in his past four appearances.
Charlotte quickly fell into a game-opening 14-2 hole, before closing the first quarter on a 23-10 run for a one-point lead. The Hornets’ offense seesawed over the next two frames and heading into the fourth, Chicago was holding a seven-point advantage. Still down by seven with 3:39 to go, Rozier’s sixth and seventh 3-pointers highlighted a game-tying 8-1 Charlotte run.
Rozier then had a chance to take the lead with an eighth long-distance make in the closing seconds, though the attempt fell well short. On the replay, it appeared Zach LaVine might have fouled him on the landing, but unfortunately for the Hornets, no call was made. Chicago soon opened overtime with an 8-0 run and Charlotte got no closer than three over the final 2:25.
“In the fourth, obviously we were terrific at both ends – plus seven, held them to 24 points,” said Hornets Head Coach Steve Clifford afterwards. “The start of the overtime hurt us. We had a good possession, missed a makeable shot, bad possession, they’re up four, we come down and try to make a great pass, which is a huge play, so it’s six right away. The longer the game went on, they did what they did in Chicago (on Friday). They committed the second defender to Terry in every situation and with the guys we have right now, it’s not easy.”
Added Rozier, “I think we made a lot more shots this game. We executed a little more with our plays, but we still could be better. In this league, especially with a lot of guys missing, we don’t have a lot of room for error, so we paid for it at the end.”
Miles Bridges (24), Nick Smith Jr. (15) and Nick Richards (10) also all had at least 10 points, with Bridges and Richards each snagging eight rebounds. JT Thor added a season-high nine points and a career-high eight rebounds, six of which were offensive (also a new personal best). Charlotte drained 17-of-42 3-point attempts (40.5%) and 23-of-52 from inside the arc (44.2%). Both PJ Washington (right foot sprain) and Cody Martin (right groin) were unavailable.
Chicago got 20-point outputs from Coby White (27), Andre Drummond (21), and Nikola Vučević (21) in the win, the team’s 11th in 13 meetings with Charlotte since the beginning of the 2020-21 campaign. Drummond and Vučević wrangled 15 and 10 rebounds, respectively, to seal double-doubles, while DeMar DeRozan added another 18 points for the victorious Bulls.
The Hornets will close out their short two-game homestand against the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday, Jan. 10 beginning at 7 PM ET at Spectrum Center. Follow all the action on Bally Sports Southeast and WFNZ 92.7 FM.
2024-01-08
Hornets Push Bulls To Extra Frame, Then Falter In Overtime Loss
Sam Perley, NBA.com/Hornets
Rozier Has Spectacular 39-PT Showing, Couple Bad Possessions Cost Charlotte in Crunch Time
Another made shot here, maybe a different sequence of plays there and the Charlotte Hornets would have had themselves a thrilling win in their first appearance at Spectrum Center in over two weeks. Instead, the homecoming was spoiled by the Chicago Bulls in a 119-112 overtime loss on Monday night.
Terry Rozier led the charge with a game-high 39 points on 10-of-18 shooting, seven 3-pointers, a career-best 12-of-12 clip from the free-throw line, three rebounds and eight assists in the loss. This performance bumped Rozier’s seasonal 30-point game total to six, exactly half of which have now come in his past four appearances.
Charlotte quickly fell into a game-opening 14-2 hole, before closing the first quarter on a 23-10 run for a one-point lead. The Hornets’ offense seesawed over the next two frames and heading into the fourth, Chicago was holding a seven-point advantage. Still down by seven with 3:39 to go, Rozier’s sixth and seventh 3-pointers highlighted a game-tying 8-1 Charlotte run.
Rozier then had a chance to take the lead with an eighth long-distance make in the closing seconds, though the attempt fell well short. On the replay, it appeared Zach LaVine might have fouled him on the landing, but unfortunately for the Hornets, no call was made. Chicago soon opened overtime with an 8-0 run and Charlotte got no closer than three over the final 2:25.
“In the fourth, obviously we were terrific at both ends – plus seven, held them to 24 points,” said Hornets Head Coach Steve Clifford afterwards. “The start of the overtime hurt us. We had a good possession, missed a makeable shot, bad possession, they’re up four, we come down and try to make a great pass, which is a huge play, so it’s six right away. The longer the game went on, they did what they did in Chicago (on Friday). They committed the second defender to Terry in every situation and with the guys we have right now, it’s not easy.”
Added Rozier, “I think we made a lot more shots this game. We executed a little more with our plays, but we still could be better. In this league, especially with a lot of guys missing, we don’t have a lot of room for error, so we paid for it at the end.”
Miles Bridges (24), Nick Smith Jr. (15) and Nick Richards (10) also all had at least 10 points, with Bridges and Richards each snagging eight rebounds. JT Thor added a season-high nine points and a career-high eight rebounds, six of which were offensive (also a new personal best). Charlotte drained 17-of-42 3-point attempts (40.5%) and 23-of-52 from inside the arc (44.2%). Both PJ Washington (right foot sprain) and Cody Martin (right groin) were unavailable.
Chicago got 20-point outputs from Coby White (27), Andre Drummond (21), and Nikola Vučević (21) in the win, the team’s 11th in 13 meetings with Charlotte since the beginning of the 2020-21 campaign. Drummond and Vučević wrangled 15 and 10 rebounds, respectively, to seal double-doubles, while DeMar DeRozan added another 18 points for the victorious Bulls.
The Hornets will close out their short two-game homestand against the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday, Jan. 10 beginning at 7 PM ET at Spectrum Center. Follow all the action on Bally Sports Southeast and WFNZ 92.7 FM.