The Charlotte Hornets Kelly Oubre Jr. led the way in a fourth quarter comeback to beat the Denver Nuggets 115-107 on Thursday night.
The Hornets got off to a quality start on both ends of the floor, jumping out to an eleven point lead, 20-9. The good start was short lived. The Nuggets charged all the way back, only trailing by one at the end of the first quarter, 27-26.
Charlotte did not start off on the right foot in the second quarter. The Nuggets connected on seven shots from deep and scored 39 points. It looked like the game was slipping away from the Hornets once again. There was a 12 minute stretch of time where the Nuggets more than doubled the Hornets in scoring 43-20. The Hornets somewhat stopped the bleeding late in the half and were trailing by 13 at the end of the quarter, 55-42.
The third quarter did not start off much better. The Hornets fell behind by as many as 19 points on a couple of different stints in the quarter. They did not let Denver take complete control however, and kept the game within reach, going into the fourth, 84-77.
The Hornets had a fourth quarter explosion, led by Kelly Oubre Jr. and Ish Smith. Hornets’ announcer Dell Curry mentioned the importance of a Hornets possession as they controlled the ball with a 14 point deficit. A few seconds later, Oubre converted a 4-point play to start the Hornets run.
The Hornets began the quarter on a 22-5 extended run, capped with a 3-point shot by P.J. Washington, to knot the game. The Hornets had their way with Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic during the run with Jalen McDaniels depositing a dunk on his head and Terry Rozier sending him the opposite way on a step-back three.
Washington continued his clutch fourth quarter, hitting two more threes, each giving the Hornets the lead. The momentum of those made threes carried the Hornets through the rest of the game. Washington found McDaniels wide open for a dunk. He also drew a double team and found Smith open in the corner for a rhythm jump shot that sealed the deal. On the possessions in between, Denver tried to run their offense through Jokic, but Washington had him under lock and key.
The bench, as a whole, came through for the Hornets. Smith, Oubre and Washington deserve the lion’s share of the credit for the win. Smith provided a spark to the team that looked like they were out of energy. Oubre provided the scoring punch. Washington had a great overall game.
“A feel thing,” Hornets coach James Borrego explained. “I thought that group deserved to finish the game out. They were ready and capable of finishing that game.”
Kelly Oubre Jr. led six Hornets in double figures with 23 points, 14 coming in the final quarter. He also had 4 assists. P.J. Washington scored 13 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists. Ish Smith contributed 9 points and 4 boards. Terry Rozier had 17 points, LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges had 16 apiece and Jalen McDaniels had 12.
Nikola Jokic had a 20-20 game with 29 points and 21 rebounds for the Nugget, and was one away from equaling his career high. Facundo Campazzo scored 12 points with 5 assists. Will Barton contributed 11 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists.
The Nuggets travel to Los Angeles to take on Paul George and the Clippers on Sunday. The Hornets host Christian Wood and the Houston Rockets on Monday.
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