Without a doubt the hardest fought, most grind-it-out performance of the season for the very undermanned Charlotte Hornets killed two birds with one stone, ended a pair of eight-game losing streaks, overall and on the road, on Sunday evening in the Hosier State,
Indianapolis. Making the four-point, 113-109 victory over the Indiana Pacers even sweeter, was the fact that they finally pulled out a down-to-the-wire win that has alluded them over the past several weeks.
Hornets forward, Brandon Miller, who made a number of crucial plays down the stretch, got his 11th consecutive 20-point game, with 26 points on 50% shooting from the field, while adding six rebounds and five assists in 40 minutes of playing time. A career-high 13 points in any single quarter in the second, was the catalyst in a season-high 18 points on 7-of-15 shooting and nine dimes for Vasilije Micić.
Pacers TJ McConnell, who has cut his teeth in the league as a scrappy defender and an irritant, amassed a career-high 30 points on 14-of-19 shooting and six assists in just under 26 minutes off the bench. Indiana’s top three scorers this season, Pascal Siakam, Bennedict Mathurin and Tyrese Haliburton, did not show up ready to play and combined for only 29 points on 37.9% shooting (11-of-29).
Shooting a red-hot 68.4% in the second quarter helped the Hornets overcome six turnovers to achieve a 63-62 halftime lead, only their second of the season away from the friendly confines of the Spectrum Center. Charlotte was able to maintain their lead well into the fourth quarter, where they found themselves leading by two, 100-98, with just over five minutes remaining. From there, Miller took over, either scoring for himself or getting his teammates involved on the team’s next 10 points, all while McConnell made layup after layup to keep the Pacers close. Despite two last-minute turnovers, the Hornets had just enough cushion to pull this one out.
Hornets first-year head coach Charles Lee and his staff challenged two crucial calls with under three minutes to go, both of which were deemed successful. With the Hornets up by two possessions, DaQuan Jeffries’ shooting foul and two Indiana free-throw attempts turned into a Mathurin offensive foul. Then, about 90 seconds later, a loose-ball foul on Micic got wiped away, awarding the ball and possession to the Hornets.
With Nick Richards back in the fold, but Mark Williams sitting (left foot injury management), the Hornets played large chunks of the game without a true big man presence or power forward again. The size differential hardly mattered. They dominated the glass, out rebounding the Pacers by 16, 45-29 and second-chance points (19-4), gave up a season-low three offensive boards, and held seven-footer Myles Turner to only one rebound.
Had the Hornets found a way to lose this game, their 25 turnovers for 29 Indiana points would have likely been the biggest reason why. While it was not a season high for giveaways, 27 against the Orlando Magic on November 25, this total matches the second most by any NBA team in a win this season and was the franchise’s second most ever in a road win (26 at Chicago on January 19, 2000), according to Stathead.
“It’s funny. We are so obsessed with the daily improvement and the process that we go through every day, that it didn’t feel like it was an eight-game losing streak for some reason. Not that we’re okay with losing, but I think that’s everybody’s approach and understanding about what we can learn from every possession, every game that we’ve been through. The level of physicality that we took our game to, the competitiveness, the togetherness, it’s a product of learning from all those losses,” stated Hornets coach Lee.
Four full days off and time to practice await the Hornets before they head to the ‘Windy City’ to face Zach LaVine and the Chicago Bulls on Friday, December 13.
The Pacers are on the road at Philadelphia to take on Tyrese Maxey and the 76ers on Friday, December 13.
