Charlotte Hornets Lose to the Suns Away From Home, 120-103
Kemba Walker‘s 28-point, eight assist performance wasn’t enough as the Charlotte Hornets fell to the Suns in Phoenix.
170. Final. 120. 66. 103
The Charlotte Hornets (26-35) were defeated by the Phoenix Suns (19-42) as they dropped yet another disappointing game on the road. Kemba shined once again but a team effort from the home team was too much for the visitors to overcome. The Hornets have still not won consecutive games for well over a month now.
Charlotte was without Ramon Sessions (knee surgery) for the 11th consecutive game while Miles Plumlee (calf strain) missed his fifth straight. Cody Zeller played in his second game since returning from a lengthy quad injury but he was still on a bit of a minutes restriction. The injury problems keep piling up as Frank Kaminsky suffered a left shoulder injury in the fourth quarter and did not return.
Turning Point
The Hornets entered the fourth quarter trailing by three points, 94-91. They came within one point at the 10:54 mark but the Suns went on a 14-2 run to essentially seal the game. That run put them up 110-97 and they never looked back as Phoenix outscored Charlotte 26-12 in the final period. Chalk up yet another poor finish from the Hornets this season.
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Who Stepped Up
Kemba Walker led the Hornets as he finished the night with a game-high 26 points to go along with eight assists and four rebounds. Marvin Williams added 19 points and four boards while Frank Kaminsky scored 16 in this one. Nicolas Batum ended with 12 points, five assists and three rebounds.
Marco Belinelli led Charlotte’s second unit with seven points. Cody Zeller scored six and grabbed eight boards off the bench in his second game back. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist was quiet on the offensive end but he did grab eight rebounds with five of them being on the offensive end.
The Suns were led by Marquese Chriss who scored a team-high 17 points. Alan Williams, Leandro Barbosa and TJ Warren each scored 16 for Phoenix in this one. Devin Booker filled up the stat sheet with 15 points, nine assists and six boards. Eric Bledsoe rounded out the double-digit scorers with 14 points.
Play of the Game:
Tweet of the Game:
One day MKG will have to teach me how he slows down time and grabs OREB before anyone bends their knees to jump.
— Locked On Hornets Podcast (@LockedOnHornets) March 3, 2017
"Quick Stings"
- MKG recorded a career-high five offensive rebounds and tied his career-high with five steals.
- Kemba scored 20+ points in 41 games this season.
- Phoenix’s bench outscored Charlotte’s second unit 53-23.
- The Suns out-rebounded the Hornets 42-34.
- Charlotte only shot (35-89) 39.3% from the field while Phoenix shot (46-77) 59.7%.
With the loss, the Hornets fall to 0-1 on the season against the Suns. They will meet once more this year with that matchup coming in Charlotte on March 26th. Steve Clifford’s side is now only 2-6 against the Suns since 2011 and 1-5 in Phoenix.
Next: Beat: Likeliest Player to be Traded This Summer
In their next outing, the Charlotte Hornets will travel to the Mile High City to take on the Denver Nuggets. It will be the first of only two meeting on the season between the two sides. This will be their sixth and final game of their current road trip as they look to close it out with a victory.