Charlotte Has Another Lethargic Start, Defense Holds Up Against NBA’s Top-Ranked Offense
A spectacular performance by rookie Brandon Miller served as a major bright spot for the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday night, following their 115-99 home loss to the Indiana Pacers.
Twice within the past week, Miller has finished a field goal shy of notching his first career 30-point game. He finally blew right past that threshold in this one, tallying 35 points (17 in the third) on 10-of-25 shooting, five 3-pointers, six rebounds, and two blocks in 38 minutes. Miller’s point total was the most by a Charlotte rookie since April 16, 1993 (Alonzo Mourning), two shy of tying the franchise rookie record of 37 and makes him the third rookie in team history to have a 35-point game, per Basketball Reference (Mourning, Rex Chapman).
Down to only one true point guard and still missing a lot of spacing, Charlotte’s offense was sluggish from the get-go, making only 5-of-25 shots for a season-low 13 first-quarter points. The scoring soon revved up though, and the Hornets got back to within four by the 8:33 mark of the third. Indiana responded with a decisive 28-8 run and though the Hornets then immediately countered with a 14-0 stretch, they never got the deficit back under double digits again.
“We had a couple turnovers that hurt us,” said Hornets Head Coach Steve Clifford, on Indiana’s third-quarter run. “To me, the biggest thing is when we’re moving the ball and we’re not trying to play iso, which we’re not good at, we’re pretty good offensively. There’s just too many possessions it doesn’t happen.”
When broached about Miller’s big night, Clifford added, “It doesn’t surprise me. He works hard, he’s very diligent and that’s the way it works. He’s got a lot of talent. He’s getting better for the right reasons. He’s being double-teamed now, and he did a good job against that, passing out of it. I think he’ll get better and better.”
PJ Washington (22 points; 11 in the second quarter), Miles Bridges (19 points) and Nick Richards (12 points) also crossed into double figures for Charlotte, which lost its seventh consecutive game and sixth in a row at home. Richards managed to grab a team-high 10 rebounds for his 10th double-double of the campaign. After missing their first 11 3-point attempts, the Hornets finished 8-of-29 from deep (27.6%) and dished out only 18 assists overall.
Recent newcomer Pascal Siakam led the Pacers with a team-high 25 points on 11-of-20 shooting, eight rebounds, nine assists and a game-best plus-30 plus-minus. Aaron Nesmith (22) also managed a 20-point game, while All-Star starter Tyrese Haliburton added another 17 points playing his fourth straight game with a minutes restriction (20:17; didn’t play the final quarter). Interestingly, this Indiana victory, which snapped a three-game skid, is only its second of the season when scoring 115-or-fewer points (now 2-13).
The Hornets will finish off their all-home back-to-back against the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday, Feb. 5 beginning at 7 PM ET at Spectrum Center. Catch all the action on Bally Sports Southeast and WFNZ 92.7 FM.
2024-02-04
Miller Rattles Rookie Record, Hornets’ Fortunes Flip In 3rd Quarter Again
Sam Perley, NBA.com/Hornets
Charlotte Has Another Lethargic Start, Defense Holds Up Against NBA’s Top-Ranked Offense
A spectacular performance by rookie Brandon Miller served as a major bright spot for the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday night, following their 115-99 home loss to the Indiana Pacers.
Twice within the past week, Miller has finished a field goal shy of notching his first career 30-point game. He finally blew right past that threshold in this one, tallying 35 points (17 in the third) on 10-of-25 shooting, five 3-pointers, six rebounds, and two blocks in 38 minutes. Miller’s point total was the most by a Charlotte rookie since April 16, 1993 (Alonzo Mourning), two shy of tying the franchise rookie record of 37 and makes him the third rookie in team history to have a 35-point game, per Basketball Reference (Mourning, Rex Chapman).
Down to only one true point guard and still missing a lot of spacing, Charlotte’s offense was sluggish from the get-go, making only 5-of-25 shots for a season-low 13 first-quarter points. The scoring soon revved up though, and the Hornets got back to within four by the 8:33 mark of the third. Indiana responded with a decisive 28-8 run and though the Hornets then immediately countered with a 14-0 stretch, they never got the deficit back under double digits again.
“We had a couple turnovers that hurt us,” said Hornets Head Coach Steve Clifford, on Indiana’s third-quarter run. “To me, the biggest thing is when we’re moving the ball and we’re not trying to play iso, which we’re not good at, we’re pretty good offensively. There’s just too many possessions it doesn’t happen.”
When broached about Miller’s big night, Clifford added, “It doesn’t surprise me. He works hard, he’s very diligent and that’s the way it works. He’s got a lot of talent. He’s getting better for the right reasons. He’s being double-teamed now, and he did a good job against that, passing out of it. I think he’ll get better and better.”
PJ Washington (22 points; 11 in the second quarter), Miles Bridges (19 points) and Nick Richards (12 points) also crossed into double figures for Charlotte, which lost its seventh consecutive game and sixth in a row at home. Richards managed to grab a team-high 10 rebounds for his 10th double-double of the campaign. After missing their first 11 3-point attempts, the Hornets finished 8-of-29 from deep (27.6%) and dished out only 18 assists overall.
Recent newcomer Pascal Siakam led the Pacers with a team-high 25 points on 11-of-20 shooting, eight rebounds, nine assists and a game-best plus-30 plus-minus. Aaron Nesmith (22) also managed a 20-point game, while All-Star starter Tyrese Haliburton added another 17 points playing his fourth straight game with a minutes restriction (20:17; didn’t play the final quarter). Interestingly, this Indiana victory, which snapped a three-game skid, is only its second of the season when scoring 115-or-fewer points (now 2-13).
The Hornets will finish off their all-home back-to-back against the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday, Feb. 5 beginning at 7 PM ET at Spectrum Center. Catch all the action on Bally Sports Southeast and WFNZ 92.7 FM.