Denver defense wilts in loss at Charlotte
CHARLOTTE, N.C.» Dwight Howard stepped to the free-throw line in the second quarter and — gasp! — connected on his first attempt.
The resulting cheers from the crowd were part sarcastic, part shocked, part genuinely pleased. Howard is a career 57 percent free-throw shooter and had missed 15 of his first 19 attempts of the 201718 season. But Howard’s rare make from the charity stripe illustrated the Charlotte Hornets’ offensive avalanche in the second quarter, propelling them to a 110-93 victory over the Nuggets at the Spectrum Center that left Denver coach Michael Malone questioning his team’s energy and effort.
“We’re not good enough to come on the road and not play as hard as possible for 48 minutes,” Malone said. “I can only do so much. I can’t motivate 15 individual players and give them a ‘rah-rah’ speech.
“You’re paid professionals. Your job is to be ready to play whenever you’re called upon.”
The performance by Charlotte’s offense and Denver’s defense was a complete reversal from both teams’ previous three games.
The Hornets (2-2) entered Wednesday ranked in the bottom five in the NBA in points per game, field-goal percentage and 3-point field-goal percentage, while Denver (1-3) ranked in the league’s top 10 in defensive rating and points allowed. Wednesday night, Charlotte shot 47.5 percent and hit 13-of-30 from behind the arc — and sat above 50 percent in both categories for the bulk of the contest — to eclipse 100 points for the first time this season.
And it turns out a knockout blow can be delivered before halftime.
Charlotte shot 70 percent from the floor in the second quarter to outscore Denver 35-16. The Hornets’ bench combo of sharpshooting big man Frank Kaminsky (20 points) and rookie Malik Monk (17 points) spearheaded the outburst.
A 3-pointer by Monk capped a 19-7 run to begin the quarter. A trey by Kaminsky finished off a 13-0 spurt to extend Charlotte’s halftime advantage to 62-39, with the Hornets’ bench and crowd celebrating before the ball even reached the bottom of the net.
“It’s tough once teams start making shots,” said Nuggets veteran forward Paul Millsap, who totaled eight points and five rebounds. “You start putting your head down, even if they’re contested shots … when that happens, that’s when we’ve got to be stronger.”
Malone told his team at halftime that he would sit players who lacked energy. He also switched to a smaller lineup that prevented Kaminsky from getting free outside the arc, helping limit Charlotte to three 3-pointers after intermission. Gary Harris scored 13 of his 18 points in the third quarter, while Nikola Jokic kept pushing toward a doubledouble.
But when Wilson Chandler nailed a 3-pointer from the right wing to cut Charlotte’s lead to 9079 with about nine minutes to play, Kaminsky answered by finishing inside before Monk hit a pull-up jumper.
So the slight second-half turnaround was not enough for the Nuggets. And with the game’s outcome already decided, Howard connected on a layup and was fouled. He again stepped to the foul line.
Naturally, Howard made the free throw.