Charlotte Has Worst 3-Point Shooting Night This Season, Portland Snaps 10-Game Skid
An out-of-the-ordinary day for the Charlotte Hornets that began with Head Coach Steve Clifford announcing that he was stepping down once the season was over ended with a tough 89-86 home loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night.
Neither one of these teams – both of whom rank in the top-3 for games missed due to injury this season – were playing with anything close to a full deck. The absences most definitely contributed to a minimal offensive showcase, like Charlotte’s 93-80 victory in the Pacific Northwest back on Feb. 25. The last time the Hornets scored and allowed under 90 points in the same game was an 87-76 win in Detroit on Feb. 10, 2020, according to Basketball Reference.
Portland broke a 21-21 score with a 9-0 first quarter-closing run, but Charlotte responded by allowing a quarterly-season-low-tying 15 points in the second to enter halftime down only one. This small deficit held steady through the ensuing frame and with under two minutes remaining on the game clock, both sides were level at 81.
A 4-0 Portland run was quickly countered by a Brandon Miller 3-pointer, trimming the visitors’ advantage back to one. But the rebounding front, which had continuously plagued Charlotte the entire night, reared its ugly head again at the worst possible moment with a second-chance layup from Deandre Ayton. After Miller sank a pull-up jumper and Scoot Henderson missed two free throws, Miller’s go-ahead floater and Dāvis Bertāns’ game-tying wide-open corner 3-pointer both failed to find the bottom of the net on Charlotte’s final two possessions.
On top of shooting only 41% and a season-worst 5-of-31 from 3-point range (16.1%, which was also a new season low), the Hornets got crushed on the boards, 55-36. Portland corralled 14 offensive rebounds to Charlotte’s two, leading to 16 second-chance points on 8-of-16 shooting.
“The biggest part of the game was the rebounding,” said Clifford afterwards. “Both teams are playing so many men down. That’s not offensive execution – that’s how much offense is on the floor. The biggest part of the game was the rebounding. They tattooed us on the glass. Again, we’re down one, we get a stop, and we couldn’t get the rebound. That was the game.”
Miles Bridges (right wrist contusion) and Vasilije Micić (right shoulder strain) joined the likes of LaMelo Ball, Mark Williams, Seth Curry, Cody Martin, and Nick Richards on the Hornets’ sidelines. Miller scored a team-high 21 points – nine in the fourth – on 9-of-20 shooting, while Aleksej Pokuševski (11) and JT Thor (9) each matched their season highs. Grant Williams got another start at center, finishing with seven rebounds and a career-high 11 assists.
Ayton (24) and Henderson (22 and 10 assists) both had 20-point games for the Blazers, who terminated a season-long 10-game losing streak and avoided getting swept in the season series by Charlotte for the first time since 2007-08. Portland also got 16 rebounds from Ayton and a career-high-smashing 22 from Jabari Walker, the most by an opposing player against the Hornets since Dec. 19, 2022 (Domantas Sabonis, 23).
Coming up next for the Hornets will be another home game against the Orlando Magic on Friday, April 5 beginning at 7 PM ET. Follow all the action on Bally Sports Southeast and WFNZ 92.7 FM.
2024-04-03
Hornets Get Dominated On The Glass, Pair Of Late Shots Both Don’t Drop
Sam Perley, NBA.com/Hornets
Charlotte Has Worst 3-Point Shooting Night This Season, Portland Snaps 10-Game Skid
An out-of-the-ordinary day for the Charlotte Hornets that began with Head Coach Steve Clifford announcing that he was stepping down once the season was over ended with a tough 89-86 home loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night.
Neither one of these teams – both of whom rank in the top-3 for games missed due to injury this season – were playing with anything close to a full deck. The absences most definitely contributed to a minimal offensive showcase, like Charlotte’s 93-80 victory in the Pacific Northwest back on Feb. 25. The last time the Hornets scored and allowed under 90 points in the same game was an 87-76 win in Detroit on Feb. 10, 2020, according to Basketball Reference.
Portland broke a 21-21 score with a 9-0 first quarter-closing run, but Charlotte responded by allowing a quarterly-season-low-tying 15 points in the second to enter halftime down only one. This small deficit held steady through the ensuing frame and with under two minutes remaining on the game clock, both sides were level at 81.
A 4-0 Portland run was quickly countered by a Brandon Miller 3-pointer, trimming the visitors’ advantage back to one. But the rebounding front, which had continuously plagued Charlotte the entire night, reared its ugly head again at the worst possible moment with a second-chance layup from Deandre Ayton. After Miller sank a pull-up jumper and Scoot Henderson missed two free throws, Miller’s go-ahead floater and Dāvis Bertāns’ game-tying wide-open corner 3-pointer both failed to find the bottom of the net on Charlotte’s final two possessions.
On top of shooting only 41% and a season-worst 5-of-31 from 3-point range (16.1%, which was also a new season low), the Hornets got crushed on the boards, 55-36. Portland corralled 14 offensive rebounds to Charlotte’s two, leading to 16 second-chance points on 8-of-16 shooting.
“The biggest part of the game was the rebounding,” said Clifford afterwards. “Both teams are playing so many men down. That’s not offensive execution – that’s how much offense is on the floor. The biggest part of the game was the rebounding. They tattooed us on the glass. Again, we’re down one, we get a stop, and we couldn’t get the rebound. That was the game.”
Miles Bridges (right wrist contusion) and Vasilije Micić (right shoulder strain) joined the likes of LaMelo Ball, Mark Williams, Seth Curry, Cody Martin, and Nick Richards on the Hornets’ sidelines. Miller scored a team-high 21 points – nine in the fourth – on 9-of-20 shooting, while Aleksej Pokuševski (11) and JT Thor (9) each matched their season highs. Grant Williams got another start at center, finishing with seven rebounds and a career-high 11 assists.
Ayton (24) and Henderson (22 and 10 assists) both had 20-point games for the Blazers, who terminated a season-long 10-game losing streak and avoided getting swept in the season series by Charlotte for the first time since 2007-08. Portland also got 16 rebounds from Ayton and a career-high-smashing 22 from Jabari Walker, the most by an opposing player against the Hornets since Dec. 19, 2022 (Domantas Sabonis, 23).
Coming up next for the Hornets will be another home game against the Orlando Magic on Friday, April 5 beginning at 7 PM ET. Follow all the action on Bally Sports Southeast and WFNZ 92.7 FM.