The Charlotte Hornets had a balanced scoring attack and took over in the fourth quarter, beating the Portland Trail Blazers by 12, 125-113 on Sunday night.
The Hornets came out on fire from beyond the arc, knocking down seven 3-pointers in the first quarter. Even though the Blazers did not shoot particularly well to start the game, they were still able to keep the game close.
Portland’s starting lineup trailed briefly before the bench came in, led by Cody Zeller and Nassir Little, who used hustle and effort to turn a deficit into a Portland lead. At the end of the first quarter the Blazers led 29-27.
With the Blazers’ super stars struggling to find their rhythm from the field, Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum combined for a sparse 15 points in the half, the reserves had to pick up the slack. Anfernee Simons drilled four 3-pointers in the first half for 12 of his 19 points. Even with him missing shots, Lillard still got his teammates involved with seven assists. That helped the Blazers have a seven point lead at halftime, 60-53.
The Hornets came out ready to go in the second half. LaMelo Ball started to find his shot and that had an effect on the entire team. In a less than stellar stretch for the Blazers, they allowed Mason Plumlee to get an easy dunk. That was followed by a careless inbound pass by Jusuf Nurkic, leading to a Terry Rozier jump shot from downtown. Nurkic set an illegal screen on an inbound pass, setting up an easy basket for Ball.
Charlotte nearly erased Portland’s lead in a single trip down the floor. By the end of the third quarter, the Hornets regained the lead by one point, 89-88 and they would not relinquish the lead.
Portland did not give up, but it seemed like some of their energy was gone. Charlotte continued to out play the Blazers. The majority of the 50/50 plays went in favor of the Hornets.
C.J. McCollum led the Blazers with 25 points. Jusuf Nurkic had a double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds. The Blazers came into Sunday night with a two game winning streak.
Damian Lillard had a quiet scoring night with only 14 points and 12 assists for Portland. He was 5 of 20 from the field and 2 0f 14 from 3-point range.
LaMelo Ball had a great overall game with 27 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Kelly Oubre Jr. scored half of his 26 points in the final quarter. Miles Bridges added 19 points and a career-high nine assists. P.J. Washington had 17 points. Terry Rozier was back in the starting lineup after missing the previous four games with a sprained right ankle. He finished with 14 points on 40% from the field.
This win gave the Hornets’ coach James Borrego his 100th career victory.
Portland takes on Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night. Charlotte faces the Cleveland Cavaliers on the second night of a back-to back.
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