Charlotte Gets Four 20-PT Scorers, Shoots Season-Best 56% to Snap Six-Game Skid
Having dropped 17 of 18 games heading into Friday night’s home tussle with San Antonio, the Charlotte Hornets need every single win they can get right now. Thanks to a couple last-minute key plays, they halted their six-game losing streak with a 124-120 victory over the Spurs.
LaMelo Ball (28), Brandon Miller (24), Miles Bridges (23) and PJ Washington (20) each had 20-point showings for the victors, marking the second time this season that four Charlotte players have all scored at least 20 points in the same game, per Basketball Reference. Ball and Terry Rozier (17 points) both dished out eight assists, while Miller fell just short of his first NBA double-double with a career-high-tying nine rebounds.
Down both Mark Williams and Nick Richards for this one, the Hornets were forced to go small and start Washington at the five. Charlotte sank its first seven shots of the contest and weathered a late 17-8 San Antonio run to take a 34-32 lead after the first. The Hornets stayed on top by winning the ensuing two frames by a combined 10 points, securing a 97-85 advantage by the start of the fourth. San Antonio wouldn’t go quietly though, riding a 15-2 quarter-opening surge to pull in front for the first time all night.
Momentum swung back and forth over the next eight minutes, transpiring in a 118-117 Charlotte lead with about 50 seconds to go. After Zach Collins was whistled for an illegal screen, Ball burned as much clock as he could, then weaved his way through three San Antonio defenders for a gorgeous reverse layup that bounced twice on the rim before falling through. Devin Vassell missed the equalizer at the other end, Washington wrangled the defensive board and Charlotte sank four free throws in the final five seconds to get the win.
“We did a good job for a while, but it was right at the beginning of the fourth [where things started to turn],” said Hornets Head Coach Steve Clifford following the win. “A couple of those guys that played the whole third, we got them out. The Brandon Miller corner 3-pointer [up two, with 3:12 left] was a huge shot, the ‘Melo drive. Maybe the biggest play of the game was the PJ Washington defensive rebound in traffic, then he made a good outlet pass, too. We made a lot of good plays there at the end of the game, which was important.”
“Just came off the screen, saw I still had a dude on my left and then [Zach] Collins on the right,” described Ball, when asked about the late layup. “I just made a spin move and made a play.”
The Hornets shot a season-best 56% and drilled 16-of-29 3-point attempts, good for their second-best 3-point efficiency of the campaign (55.2%). Down their top two rotational centers, but also facing a Spurs squad missing 7-4 rookie French phenom Victor Wembanyama, Charlotte managed to win the glass, 40-34, and scored 24 points off only 13 takeaways.
Keldon Johnson led the Spurs with a team-high 25 points on 9-of-15 shooting in 29 minutes off the bench, while Vassell had 17 and seven assists. Collins returned from a 10-game absence to finish with 16 points, as did fellow starter Tre Jones.
The Hornets will finish off their all-home back-to-back against the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday, Jan. 20 beginning at 7 PM ET at Spectrum Center. Catch all the action on Bally Sports Southeast and WFNZ 92.7 FM.
2024-01-19
Ball Drops In Late Acrobatic Layup, Hornets Notch Much-Needed Win
Sam Perley, NBA.com/Hornets
Charlotte Gets Four 20-PT Scorers, Shoots Season-Best 56% to Snap Six-Game Skid
Having dropped 17 of 18 games heading into Friday night’s home tussle with San Antonio, the Charlotte Hornets need every single win they can get right now. Thanks to a couple last-minute key plays, they halted their six-game losing streak with a 124-120 victory over the Spurs.
LaMelo Ball (28), Brandon Miller (24), Miles Bridges (23) and PJ Washington (20) each had 20-point showings for the victors, marking the second time this season that four Charlotte players have all scored at least 20 points in the same game, per Basketball Reference. Ball and Terry Rozier (17 points) both dished out eight assists, while Miller fell just short of his first NBA double-double with a career-high-tying nine rebounds.
Down both Mark Williams and Nick Richards for this one, the Hornets were forced to go small and start Washington at the five. Charlotte sank its first seven shots of the contest and weathered a late 17-8 San Antonio run to take a 34-32 lead after the first. The Hornets stayed on top by winning the ensuing two frames by a combined 10 points, securing a 97-85 advantage by the start of the fourth. San Antonio wouldn’t go quietly though, riding a 15-2 quarter-opening surge to pull in front for the first time all night.
Momentum swung back and forth over the next eight minutes, transpiring in a 118-117 Charlotte lead with about 50 seconds to go. After Zach Collins was whistled for an illegal screen, Ball burned as much clock as he could, then weaved his way through three San Antonio defenders for a gorgeous reverse layup that bounced twice on the rim before falling through. Devin Vassell missed the equalizer at the other end, Washington wrangled the defensive board and Charlotte sank four free throws in the final five seconds to get the win.
“We did a good job for a while, but it was right at the beginning of the fourth [where things started to turn],” said Hornets Head Coach Steve Clifford following the win. “A couple of those guys that played the whole third, we got them out. The Brandon Miller corner 3-pointer [up two, with 3:12 left] was a huge shot, the ‘Melo drive. Maybe the biggest play of the game was the PJ Washington defensive rebound in traffic, then he made a good outlet pass, too. We made a lot of good plays there at the end of the game, which was important.”
“Just came off the screen, saw I still had a dude on my left and then [Zach] Collins on the right,” described Ball, when asked about the late layup. “I just made a spin move and made a play.”
The Hornets shot a season-best 56% and drilled 16-of-29 3-point attempts, good for their second-best 3-point efficiency of the campaign (55.2%). Down their top two rotational centers, but also facing a Spurs squad missing 7-4 rookie French phenom Victor Wembanyama, Charlotte managed to win the glass, 40-34, and scored 24 points off only 13 takeaways.
Keldon Johnson led the Spurs with a team-high 25 points on 9-of-15 shooting in 29 minutes off the bench, while Vassell had 17 and seven assists. Collins returned from a 10-game absence to finish with 16 points, as did fellow starter Tre Jones.
The Hornets will finish off their all-home back-to-back against the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday, Jan. 20 beginning at 7 PM ET at Spectrum Center. Catch all the action on Bally Sports Southeast and WFNZ 92.7 FM.