The Charlotte Hornets had a franchise record 24 three-pointers, beating the Detroit Pistons 140-111 Wednesday night.
The Hornets came out on fire. Miles Bridges scored 11 points in the opening quarter, as the Hornets hit seven of their first 11 shots from downtown. It only took five minutes of game time for Charlotte to create a double digit lead. The Pistons went on a small run to cut into the lead, but the Hornets went on a run of their own to end the first with an eighteen point advantage, 37-19.
Charlotte built their lead to 26 as they continued to connect from the perimeter early in the second quarter. The Hornets went on a dry spell, allowing the Pistons to go on a 10-0 run, to pull the deficit to within 16. Gordon Hayward responded with a jump shot to stop the bleeding.
The Hornets were able to grab the momentum by the horns and their lead fluctuated between the mid-teens and low 20’s. PJ Washington joined Bridges in double figures by being aggressive and going to the charity stripe, even though he struggled to make them. The Hornets led by 14 points to end the half, 65-51.
Both teams exchanged baskets to start the second half as the Hornets methodically built their lead back above 20. The Hornets seemed to let their foot off the gas just slightly and allowed the Pistons to make three straight uncontested lay ups. Rookie Cade Cunningham made a three-pointer, bringing the Pistons within 13 points, with just over four minutes remaing in the period. The Hornets went on a 12-0 run, meanwhile, the Pistons missed an abundance of easy shots at the rim. After three quarters, the Hornets had a commanding 25 point lead, 100-75.
In most circumstances, this point of the game would be considered ‘garbage time’, but Kelly Oubre Jr. put on a shooting exhibition. He splashed two three-pointers on back to back possessions. After Washington missed his outside shot attempt, the Hornets immediately went back to Oubre. He hit two more shots from outside, giving him a total of four in the first two minutes of the fourth. It was his night from that point on.
Oubre made eight three-pointers in the quarter, a Hornets franchise record for three-pointers in one quarter and just one off of the NBA record set by the Golden State Warriors Klay Thompson (9), in 2015. The Hornets went on to win the game 140-111.
“When Kelly gets hot, he’s tough to stop,” Hornets coach James Borrego said. “It’s great to see him play with that joy, that happiness and that confidence. He had a big time fourth quarter and our guys kept feeding him.”
Oubre had a game high 32 points off the bench, with six boards for the Hornets. “I give all the credit to my teammates,” Oubre said. “We had 39 assists tonight. … I am blessed to be able to play with a bunch of unselfish guys out there who allow me to continue with a hot stretch.”
Hayward contributed 19 points, had six rebounds and four assists. Bridges also had 19 points, along with two rebounds and three assists. Terry Rozier had 16 points, three rebounds and six assists. Washington had 14 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Ball flirted with a triple-double, with 12 points, eight rebounds and 12 dimes in three quarters.
Trey Lyles had a team high 17 points, with seven rebounds for the Pistons. Cunningham added 16 points, two rebounds and seven assists. Josh Jackson scored 15 points, five rebounds and two assists.
The Pistons are playing the second of a back to back Thursday against Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies. The Hornets host the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday and Monday nights.
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