P.J. Washington Jr. had a team-high 28 points and Gordon Hayward contributed 25 of his own as the undermanned Charlotte Hornets built a 21-point advantage and held on to beat the Dallas Mavericks 117-109 on Friday night.
The Hornets, who were officially eliminated from the Eastern Conference playoff race last week, earned a split of a back-to-back after losing by 19 points on Thursday night against the New Orleans Pelicans and finishing the contest with only seven healthy players. Against Dallas, Charlotte had seven players score in double figures.
“Sometimes it appears you might not have a great chance,” Hornets coach Steve Clifford said. “We had a bunch of guys play really well.”
Hayward noted his team’s ability to move the ball.
“Just moving them side to side,” he said. “Guys getting to the paint. Kicking out. Extra pass for the open shot. We hit the ‘roll’ and got some easy buckets, too.”
Charlotte inbounded with 20.7 seconds left and a 114-109 lead after the Mavericks successfully challenged a shooting foul. With the shot clock winding down, Dennis Smith Jr., Dallas’ first-round draftee in 2017 out of North Carolina State University, hit a 30-foot 3-pointer.
Luka Doncic had a game-high 34 points with 10 boards to lead the Mavericks (36-38), who dropped their third straight game and for the sixth time in eight games. Dallas is trying to avoid the play-in tournament after playing in last season’s Western Conference finals, where they lost to the Golden State Warriors.
Kyrie Irving scored 18 points for Dallas after sitting out one game due to a toe injury. He and Doncic played together for the first time since March 8. The Mavericks are 3-7 with both in the lineup.
Charlotte jumped out to a 45-26 lead a minute into the second period having hit 6 of 10 from downtown, while Dallas was ice cold, 0 for 9, behind the arc. The Hornets led 90-69 early in the third quarter before the Mavericks pulled within one, 97-96, with 8:30 remaining. Mark Williams’ putback began a 10-0 surge for the Hornets.
“Just understanding the talk before the game of what we’re playing for, for playoffs or a championship, and to come out in that first half but more or less the first quarter and give up 37, the interest level wasn’t high,” Dallas coach Jason Kidd said.
Doncic, in his second game back after missing five with a thigh injury, and Irving were a combined 3 for 17 on 3-pointers.
“Got great looks,” Kidd said. “Just didn’t go down.”
The Hornets played without their three leading scorers. Terry Rozier (21.1 points per game) and Kelly Oubre Jr. (20.3) were sidelined with injuries suffered early in Thursday’s 19-point loss at New Orleans. LaMelo Ball (23.3) has not played since Feb. 27 and is out for the season because of a fractured ankle.
Williams returned to Charlotte’s bench after missing six games with a sprained thumb. Smith played after leaving Thursday’s game with a non-COVID illness. James Bouknight and Theo Maledon were brought up from the G League. Svi Mykhailiuk made his first start of the season.
Hornets: Are 4-8 in back-to-back finales. Nick Richards had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Mavericks: Dwight Powell was 7 for 7 from the floor for 14 points. Played the second straight game without Tim Hardaway Jr., their leading 3-point shooter, because of non-COVID illness.
The teams will complete their two-game inter-conference season series at Charlotte on Sunday.
“I’d like to play again Sunday,” Clifford said, “but I’d rather have a different opponent.”
