The Charlotte Hornets, with the dynamic duo of Miles Bridges and Terry Rozier, out lasted the New Orleans Pelicans, 142-120, on Friday.
The Hornets started out the first quarter on fire. Bridges and Rozier both hit a shot from downtown and the Hornets got a pair of dunks in the paint. The offense stalled eventually. The only offense the Hornets could muster was a Cody Martin desperation jumper as the shot clock was about to expire, over four minutes of game time. The teams went back and forth for the rest of the period. The Hornets used their bench early on, going ten deep, for the first time in a while. At the end of the first quarter, Charlotte led by the slimmest of margins, 25-24.
Both teams started the second quarter the way they ended the first, trading outside shots and two-point jumpers. Former Hornet, Devonte Graham, hit a pull-up three-pointer in transition to square the game at 49. The Hornets quickly responded with a three point play by Montrezl Harrell. That was the start of a 10-0 surge over four possessions. All points were scored by the tandem of LaMelo Ball and Harrell, giving the Hornets their largest lead of the game. The Pelicans answered back with a small run, but the Hornets still took a six point advantage into halftime, 61-55.
The Hornets came out of the locker room with an abundance of energy. The offense was clicking on all cylinders. Ball took over the third quarter with his passing and scoring prowess. He tossed a no-look pass to Mason Plumlee that produced an uncontested dunk. On Charlotte’s next trip down the court, Ball hit a shot from the great beyond, to push the Hornets lead to 72-59. Moments later, Ball stole the ball from Pelicans center Jonas Valanciunas and sprinted the other way for a breakaway dunk to make the score 82-63. The teams exchanged baskets for a short time, then Kelly Oubre Jr. hit back to back three that vaulted the Hornets lead over 20. Charlotte scored 42 points in the third, as their lead grew to 21 by the end of the quarter, 103-82.
The fourth quarter began with both teams hitting their shots. Rookie Trey Murphy hit a handful of threes to keep the Pelicans in striking distance, but Bridges scored seven straight points to stop the bleeding. The Hornets got a three point play from Plumlee. Isaiah Thomas knocked down an outside shot to extend the Hornets lead to 18, with 3:15 to play. Thomas and Rozier converted several more threes to give the Hornets 22 on the night and push them past the 140 point threshold. The Hornets also finished with 41 assists. “We talked about it before the game; it’s no secret when we move the ball, we are at our best,” Hornets coach James Borrego said. “Obviously, you have to make shots, which we did tonight, but the intention was there as everyone was touching the ball. It is just infectious. “Really proud of that stat tonight of 41 assists,” Borrego added. “That’s tough to do in a NBA game.
Bridges scored a team high 26 points, with eight rebounds, nine assists and one steal for the Hornets. Rozier finished with 25 points, three boards, eight dimes and two steals. Ball added 17 points, with six boards, nine dimes and three steals. Harrell contributed 16 points, six rebounds, two assists and one steal, off the bench.
Murphy had a career high 32 points, hitting seven threes, with nine rebounds, two assists, off the bench for the Pelicans. Graham scored 19 points, with four boards, seven helpers and three steals. Willy Hernangomez added 15 points, with six boards, one assist, one steal and one block. Naji Marshall scored 14 points, with four rebounds and seven assists. The Pelicans entered the game missing their top two scorers because of Brandon Ingram’s injury (hamstring) and CJ McCollum’s placement in NBA health and safety protocols.
“Tonight was an unacceptable defensive performance on our part,” Pelicans coach Willie Green said.
The Pelicans host Jalen Green and the Houston Rockets in the third of four straight at home on Sunday. The Hornets travel to Oklahoma to face Sahi Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday to wrap up a quick two-game road trip.
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