Hornets Lose to Kings in Blowout Fashion

The Charlotte Hornets played little to no defense Friday night against the Sacramento Kings, being blown out 140-110 in their third consecutive loss.

The Hornets started the first quarter with energy, but they had to overcome an early onslaught of the Kings outside shooting, while their own shots would not fall. Like many times before, the Hornets found themselves in a big first quarter deficit. The Kings were on fire from 3-point range, hitting eight in just over eight minutes and hit their ninth as the quarter was about to come to a close. The Hornets trailed by 14 at the end of the opening quarter, 41-27.

A half-hearted closeout by Kelly Oubre Jr. allowed Mo Harkless to connect on his third 3-pointer of the half and Kings star DeAaron Fox got an uncontested layup after the Hornets missed on their prior possession. The Hornets defense was nonexistent and the Kings lead ballooned to 27 midway through the second quarter, 54-27. The Hornets made a mini run to slice the lead to 17, but were unable to keep the momentum going. They trailed by 21 at halftime, 74-53.

LaMelo Ball and Gordon Hayward played well in the third quarter, but so did Richaun Holmes for the Kings. The Kings led by as much as 25 in the quarter before the Hornets duo of Hayward and Ball ignited a 15-4 run to close the gap slightly within 14. They could not get any closer and trailed by 17 at the end of three, 106 – 89.

The Hornets looked like they could make a comeback in the early stages of the final stanza. They got to within 12 points, but the Kings knocked down two 3-pointers in a 14 second time span. That started a barrage of 3-point shots by the Kings. Along with those two baskets, the Kings made five 3-pointers in just under three minutes of game time. The shots from downtown came from two players, Buddy Hield and Davion Mitchell, to put the game away.

The Hornets had no answers for the Kings offense. They were able to get inside at will. If they did miss a shot, the Kings big men, veteran Tristan Thompson and Richaun Holmes were able to dominate the offensive board.

Buddy Hield hit eight 3-pointers and had 26 points and DeAaron Fox contributed 21 points and nine assists for the Kings. Richaun Holmes had a monster game, scoring 23 points and a career-high 20 rebounds. The Kings made a franchise-record 22 3-pointers.

“We shot 44 3s tonight but most of them came from us attacking and collapsing the defense,” coach Luke Walton said. “That’s what we want. We were sharing the ball, making the extra pass. It was fun.”

The Hornets offense played adequately. Gordon Hayward scored 25 points for Charlotte. LaMelo Ball had a double-double with 24 points and 13 assists. Cody Martin contributed 12 points and Miles Bridges had 10. They were the only other Hornets in double figures.

“We’ve got a long way to go defensively,” Charlotte coach James Borrego said. “That’s got to remain the focus. That’s how we’re going to dig out of this hole. We just have to commit to the defensive end. Building a team like this is not going to happen overnight.”

The Kings host the Indiana Pacers on Sunday afternoon. The Hornets travel to Los Angeles to take on the Clippers in the first of a back-to-back on Sunday night.