Devonta Graham led five Charlotte Hornets in double figures with 19 points. Kyle Kuzma led the Lakers with 24 points and Dennis Schroder chipped in with 19 points on Tuesday night, and the Los Angeles Lakers went on to win 101-93.
At the start of the game, the shorthanded Hornets had a slight lead, but both teams were having trouble from the field. They Lakers finally hit back-to-back 3-point shots. The Hornets did have some excitement in the first quarter with the Martin twins (Cody and Caleb) having their own Slam Dunk Contest. Even still, the Hornets had trouble getting their offense going and at the end of the first quarter trailed the Lakers 25-22.
Rookie Jalen McDaniels Hit the Hornets first long ball about 60 seconds into the second quarter. The Hornets went on a 15-3 flurry but the run was halted by Talen Horton-Tucker’s 3-point shot. The Hornets put pressure on the Lakers and got a lot of fast break points because of their tough defense. The led for most of the second quarter until Kyle Kuzma got hot giving the Lakers a 2 point lead (52-50) at the half.
The Hornet struggled with their offense coming out of half time only manufacturing 16 points. They picked up their dribble in bad spots without knowing what they wanted to do. They committed 3-24 second violations and it seemed like they couldn’t get anything easy.
In the final quarter, the Hornets make it a game with Graham and Caleb Martin hitting big shots. Nate Darling, who got his first extended minutes contributed also. The Hornets couldn’t keep the offense going. They went on a three minute drought from the field until Darling connected on three flagrant free throws. The Hornets tried to make a comeback with a couple of 3’s in the closing minutes from Miles Bridges and Graham, but the Lakers Alex Caruso hit a 3 with 45 seconds remaining that put the game away.
Nights like Tuesday night will probably continue because the Hornets don’t have enough healthy bodies to generate offense. Let’s see what they do against the Cavaliers on Wednesday night.
