Mark Williams scored 27 points, Gordon Hayward had 23 and the Charlotte Hornets snapped a three-game losing streak by the slimmest of margins, with a 125-124 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Saturday night.
Terry Rozier contributed 22 and has put up 20 or more in all five Hornets games this season.
Tyrese Haliburton tied a career high with 43 points, 25 of them coming in the third quarter, to lead the Pacers, who have dropped three of their last four after a 2-0 start.
Williams, who was 9 of 12 from the field and collected seven rebounds, scored key nine points in the final frame to help Charlotte rally. Nick Richards topped the Hornets with 10 rebounds.
Williams scored on a bunny with 1:03 left to give the Hornets a 125-122 lead. The Pacers closed the gap to 125-124 on Buddy Hield’s basket with 29 seconds remaining. Hield, who had 19 points on the night, was fouled but bricked the potential game-tying free throw.
Haliburton had a chance but Charlotte’s LaMelo Ball, who had 11 assists, forced a turnover before he could get a shot off.
Embed from Getty Images“We did a good job inbounding the ball late and obviously on the last play, Melo made a nice play,” Hornets coach Steve Clifford said.
Rozier suffered a left groin strain and needed to be helped off the floor with a little more than six minutes left in the game. Clifford said Rozier will have an MRI.
Haliburton, who had 12 assists, scored 25 points in the third quarter as the Pacers erased a 54-46 halftime deficit to take a 96-92 lead. Haliburton, who tied Jordan Nwora’s franchise record for points in a quarter, knocked down 6 of 8 3-pointers in the quarter.
“Haliburton’s third quarter was historic,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “We needed to back that up with a solid fourth quarter and they threw some hellacious shot making at us. It was some unfortunate situations for us. We have to continue to work to shore things up.”
After the Pacers shot an ice cold 33.3% in the first half, Indiana made a red-hot 81% of its shots in the third quarter. The Hornets, who made nearly 49% from the field in the opening half, shot 65% in the third quarter.
The teams were tied at 27-all at the end of the opening quarter and Charlotte led 54-46 at halftime.
The Hornets have been stifled by slow starts and Clifford said this was their best first half in the five games.
“We’ve got to shoot and make more 3s than that, but their defense had a lot to do with that,” Clifford said. “Haliburton got going in the third. We tried to double-team him, and he took us apart. They moved the ball well and we couldn’t find a scheme that worked.”
Jarace Walker, the Pacers first-round draft pick, was sidelined by a respiratory infection.
Hornets: Charlotte will play its third straight road game in Dallas on Sunday.
Pacers: Host San Antonio on Monday in the third game of a five-game homestand.
