Charlotte Hornets stars, Terry Rozier, Miles Bridges and LaMelo Ball all scored over 20 points, fighting off the Golden State Warriors, 106-102, in their third straight win Sunday night.
The Hornets started the game very strong. LaMelo Ball connected on four 3-pointers and hit a fade away jumper as part of a 15-point first quarter. Other than that, neither team stood out, with no major runs or spectacular plays. The Hornets led by three, 30-27, at the end of the quarter.
A couple of questionable shots by Hornets guard Terry Rozier on back to back possessions, allowed rookie Jonathan Kuminga to get two easy fas tbreak dunks. Coach James Borrego called a timeout to settle his team down.
When they returned to action, Cody Martin scored seven quick points along with two 3-pointers from Gordon Hayward to give the Hornets a small lead, but it was short lived when the Warriors started making threes.
Miles Bridges hit a last second floater to put the Hornets back in the lead, but he accidently fouled Kuminga during his half court buzzer beater attempt. Kuminga hit one out of three foul shots, tying the game, 57-57, at halftime.
Coming out in the third quarter, neither team established themselves. They could not put together several baskets in a row or build up a comfortable lead. They had no rhythm. Even with this happening, somehow the teams combined for 61 points in the quarter. Rozier and Kelly Oubre Jr. hit back to back shots from deep in the last 30 seconds, but Stephen Curry banked in a 37-foot heave at the buzzer. The Warriors led by one at the end of three, 88-87.
Charlotte got a steal to start the fourth quarter and Oubre converted a layup. During the layup, he was nudged in the back and complained to the officials about the no-call, which resulted in a technical foul. He gestured to the official after the call, which gave him his second technical and his ejection from the game.
Terry Rozier had a monster fourth quarter and was the only consistent source of offense. Both teams’ offenses had trouble making shots.
Draymond Green got a wide open dunk for the Warriors to tie the game with 44 seconds left in regulation. Bridges connected on a hook shot to put the Hornets ahead by two a few seconds later. Warriors’ big man Kevon Looney, missed a pair of free throws on their next possession. The Hornets could have put the game away with free throws of their own, but did not.
Rozier got tangled up with Green, forcing a jump ball at half court. The undersized 6-foot-1 Rozier outleaped the 6-foot-6 Green. The Hornets controlled the tip with Jalen McDaniels coming down with the ball. Rozier eventually got the ball and the Warriors were forced to quickly foul him. He made both free throws with 12.7 seconds left to make it a two-possession game. Golden State missed its final two shots.
“I think it is more like the timing of the ball,” Rozier said. “… I definitely wanted it because I had just turned the ball over and it was like everybody in the whole gym was looking at No. 3. I just wanted to try to make a play for our team and it worked out.”
Rozier finished with 20 points, all in the second half. Miles Bridges scored 22 points, had 3 assists and 8 boards. LaMelo Ball contributed 21 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. Cody Martin had 12 points and 8 rebounds off the bench. The Hornets are now 8-7 on the season, winning three consecutive games after a five-game losing streak.
Andrew Wiggins scored 28 points in 12-of-19 shooting for Golden State (11-2). Stephen Curry added 24 point and 10 assists. Jonathan Kuminga has a career high 9 points off the bench.
The Warriors face the Brooklyn Nets Tuesday. The Hornets host the Washington Wizards on Wednesday.
© Copyright - 730 The Game ESPN