Slow Start Comes Back To Bite Charlotte In Road Trip Finale
Ball Scores 20+ PTS for Career-High 9th Straight Game, Comeback Falls Short in Golden State
The Charlotte Hornets gave the NBA’s best home team all it could handle on Tuesday night, rallying from an 18-point thirdquarter deficit and coming up a couple buckets short in a 110-105 road loss to the Golden State Warriors.
While not the most efficient of performances, LaMelo Ball put up 21 points, 10 rebounds and four assists in the loss for Charlotte, with Terry Rozier bouncing back with 19 points following a tough showing against Portland on Monday evening.
Offense was hard to come by for the Hornets, who were missing one of their 20-point-pergame scorers in Kelly Oubre
Jr. (left hand sprain) for the first time this season.
With 9:56 remaining in the third quarter, Charlotte began chipping away at an 18-point deficit and entered the fourth trailing, 89-78. The Hornets then opened the final frame on a 23-12 run, tying the game at 101-101 with 4:19 remaining. But things grinded to a halt there, as Charlotte went scoreless on six straight
possessions as part of a gameending 9-4 Golden State run, which included six points and a key rebound and steal courtesy of Jonathan Kuminga.
“Tie score, we had the missed dunk, next possession, we had the missed five-to-six footer, then a wide-open three,” recalled Hornets Head Coach Steve Clifford after the game. “We didn’t make any of those.We were much better defensively in the second half. We had our chances. They were ready to start the game, we weren’t and that’s the difference. The fourth quarter is never the most important quarter. A lot of ways, you can say it’s the first quarter, especially on the road. If you play from ahead, it’s a big advantage.” Charlotte allowed 37 first-quarter points and 65 by halftime to a Warriors team missing both the NBA’s sixth-leading scorer in Steph Curry and Andrew Wiggins. Klay Thompson (29) and Jordan Poole (24) both had 20-point outings for the victorious hosts, who moved to 14-2 at the Chase Center this season.
Considering the Hornets began their six-game road trip on an eightgame losing streak, finishing the journey 2-4 and having really only one outing – Dec. 21 against the Clippers – where they weren’t at all competitive is something to build on. Continuity and chemistry are slowly starting to build following months of significant holes in the team’s rotation.
“I thought 3-3 would have been great,” added Clifford. “We still have two more good players to get back [in Cody Martin and Dennis Smith Jr.]. It’s going to take us a little bit more time to get organized. We’re playing every other day, so there’s not a lot of practice time. I think you can see the beginnings of what can be a good team. The reality is we’ve really had this group now for this trip and I think they understand that. The whole thing is we have to make progress.”
The Hornets are finally back in Buzz City to begin a four-game homestand starting with the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday, Dec. 29 at 7 PM ET. Catch all the action on Bally Sports Southeast and WFNZ FM 92.7.