The Hornets ended their four-game losing streak Sunday night with a decisive win over the Portland Trail Blazers, 109-101. Led by Terry Rozier, who had a near triple-double, and with a sizzling night from the great beyond, the Hornets rode to victory. Carmelo Anthony had six 3-pointers and a team high 24 points and CJ McCollum scored 22 points for the Blazers.
P.J. Washington came back after a three-game absence (ankle injury) and had a great game, scoring 23 points with 8 rebounds. Miles Bridges had 19 point including two spectacular dunks. Rozier, Washington and Bridges combined to go 15 of 31 from distance.
The Hornets were on fire in the first quarter shooting a blistering 77% from the field. Rosier made 7 of his first 8 shots attempts. At the end of the first quarter, the Hornets had a 44-24 lead.
In the first half, Portland could never put a run together, but they did slightly manage to cut into the lead 65-51 at the half.
The third quarter was a quarter of runs by both teams. The Blazers got within 11 (69-58) with eight minutes to go in the quarter. Then the Hornets went on a run of their own (18-2), and took a commanding 87-60 lead. Carmelo Anthony made a 3-pointer later in the quarter, making the score 90-70, but Washington countered with a three of his own and had 12 points in the quarter. The Hornets led by 21 at the end of three.
At the start of the fourth quarter, the Trail Blazers went on a 5-0 mini run, but after a time out by Hornets head coach James Borrego, the Hornets took back control. Brad Wanamaker had a nice stretch where he made some impressive passes in fast break opportunities. Rozier hit a 3-pointer to exceed 30 points on the night. Anthony wouldn’t let the Blazers go away and they slowly got back into the game, 104-95. Even though the Hornets weren’t able to create good looks for themselves, they were able to stop Anthony with halted the Blazers.
Even though the final score was 109-101, the game was really never that close. The Hornets led wire to wire. It was a solid win, especially with key players still out. Tuesday, the Hornets play the red hot New York Knicks, winners of six in a row. Should be a great game to see where the Hornets are.
