Bridges, Miller Score 20+ PTS for 3rd Straight Game, Offense Dismantles NBA’s Top Defense
Not even a Minnesota franchise-record 62 points from Karl-Anthony Towns could prevent the Charlotte Hornets from stealing a 128-125 road win on Monday night, a triumph that featured an 18-point comeback and some late heroics from rookie Leaky Black.
Miles Bridges led the victors with a team-high 28 points, good for his 12th 20-point game in the past 15 appearances. Right behind him again was Brandon Miller, who had 27 points on 11-of-13 shooting (career-best 84.6%) for his third straight 20-point game. Per Stathead, Brad Miller is the only other Charlotte rookie to score at least 25 points on a higher efficiency in a single outing, doing so on March 24, 1999, against Chicago (25 points on 9-of-9 shooting).
While the Hornets’ offense came out cooking, the opening two quarters were all about Towns. No matter what Charlotte tried defensively, it couldn’t prevent a monstrous 44 points and eight 3-pointers from the Minnesota seven-footer. Per Stathead, Towns’ first-half point total was the highest in the play-by-play era (since 1996-97) and fourth-highest overall in any half. Minnesota bumped its lead to 18 late in the third, then closed the frame ahead, 107-92.
The Timberwolves continued to feed Towns as the fourth quarter began, perhaps forcibly at times, which opened the door for a 21-7 run by the Hornets. Charlotte continued to put the pressure on the hosts, finally pulling ahead, 120-119, following a Nick Smith Jr. corner 3-pointer at the 3:55 mark. Later, with Minnesota still down one and under 10 seconds left, a driving Towns was met at the basket by four collapsing Charlotte defenders. Leaky Black managed to rip away and grab the loose ball, then hit his first two NBA free throws to effectively ice the game.
“Down whatever we were on the road, we were plus-18 in the fourth,” said Hornets Head Coach Steve Clifford. “Our defense was really good. Our offense – they’re the best defensive team in the league – and we scored 36. So, it was just a great 12 minutes of basketball. Towns was 8-of-8 from 3-point early. He was great and we were not locked into what we were supposed to be doing. We were better in the second half, particularly with the game on the line.”
LaMelo Ball had 18 points and a season-high-tying 13 assists, giving him seven double-doubles on the year. Terry Rozier (12 points) and PJ Washington (11 points) put all five Charlotte starters in double figures, with Black notching a career-high seven off the bench. Collectively, the Hornets shot 57.5%, the highest mark by a visiting team against Minnesota this season. This victory snapped a four-game road losing streak – all by double digits – for the purple and teal, who avoided getting swept in the season series by Minnesota for the first time since 2011-12.
Towns closed the evening with a career-high and franchise-record 62 points on 21-of-35 shooting, which also included a personal-best 10 3-pointers made. Towns’ 62 points tied Carmelo Anthony for the most ever by an opposing player against the Hornets and were also the second-most by any NBA player in a loss since the start of the 1993-94 season, per Stathead Nickeil Alexander-Walker tallied 18 points starting in place of Mike Conley (rest), while Rudy Gobert added 13 points and 11 rebounds. An under-the-weather Anthony Edwards recorded only nine points on 3-of-11 shooting but did dish out a career-high-tying 11 assists.
The Hornets will wrap up their short two-game road trip against the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday, Jan. 24 beginning at 7 PM ET. Follow all the action on Bally Sports Southeast and WFNZ 92.7 FM.
2024-01-22
Hornets Survive Towns’ Big Night, Seize 18-Point Comeback Win
Sam Perley, NBA.com/Hornets
Bridges, Miller Score 20+ PTS for 3rd Straight Game, Offense Dismantles NBA’s Top Defense
Not even a Minnesota franchise-record 62 points from Karl-Anthony Towns could prevent the Charlotte Hornets from stealing a 128-125 road win on Monday night, a triumph that featured an 18-point comeback and some late heroics from rookie Leaky Black.
Miles Bridges led the victors with a team-high 28 points, good for his 12th 20-point game in the past 15 appearances. Right behind him again was Brandon Miller, who had 27 points on 11-of-13 shooting (career-best 84.6%) for his third straight 20-point game. Per Stathead, Brad Miller is the only other Charlotte rookie to score at least 25 points on a higher efficiency in a single outing, doing so on March 24, 1999, against Chicago (25 points on 9-of-9 shooting).
While the Hornets’ offense came out cooking, the opening two quarters were all about Towns. No matter what Charlotte tried defensively, it couldn’t prevent a monstrous 44 points and eight 3-pointers from the Minnesota seven-footer. Per Stathead, Towns’ first-half point total was the highest in the play-by-play era (since 1996-97) and fourth-highest overall in any half. Minnesota bumped its lead to 18 late in the third, then closed the frame ahead, 107-92.
The Timberwolves continued to feed Towns as the fourth quarter began, perhaps forcibly at times, which opened the door for a 21-7 run by the Hornets. Charlotte continued to put the pressure on the hosts, finally pulling ahead, 120-119, following a Nick Smith Jr. corner 3-pointer at the 3:55 mark. Later, with Minnesota still down one and under 10 seconds left, a driving Towns was met at the basket by four collapsing Charlotte defenders. Leaky Black managed to rip away and grab the loose ball, then hit his first two NBA free throws to effectively ice the game.
“Down whatever we were on the road, we were plus-18 in the fourth,” said Hornets Head Coach Steve Clifford. “Our defense was really good. Our offense – they’re the best defensive team in the league – and we scored 36. So, it was just a great 12 minutes of basketball. Towns was 8-of-8 from 3-point early. He was great and we were not locked into what we were supposed to be doing. We were better in the second half, particularly with the game on the line.”
LaMelo Ball had 18 points and a season-high-tying 13 assists, giving him seven double-doubles on the year. Terry Rozier (12 points) and PJ Washington (11 points) put all five Charlotte starters in double figures, with Black notching a career-high seven off the bench. Collectively, the Hornets shot 57.5%, the highest mark by a visiting team against Minnesota this season. This victory snapped a four-game road losing streak – all by double digits – for the purple and teal, who avoided getting swept in the season series by Minnesota for the first time since 2011-12.
Towns closed the evening with a career-high and franchise-record 62 points on 21-of-35 shooting, which also included a personal-best 10 3-pointers made. Towns’ 62 points tied Carmelo Anthony for the most ever by an opposing player against the Hornets and were also the second-most by any NBA player in a loss since the start of the 1993-94 season, per Stathead Nickeil Alexander-Walker tallied 18 points starting in place of Mike Conley (rest), while Rudy Gobert added 13 points and 11 rebounds. An under-the-weather Anthony Edwards recorded only nine points on 3-of-11 shooting but did dish out a career-high-tying 11 assists.
The Hornets will wrap up their short two-game road trip against the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday, Jan. 24 beginning at 7 PM ET. Follow all the action on Bally Sports Southeast and WFNZ 92.7 FM.