The Charlotte Hornets completed a dominant victory at home over the Denver Nuggets as their bench came through in a big way.
The Charlotte Hornets (2-2) were able to defeat the Denver Nuggets (1-3) as they bounced back from a loss to the Milwaukee Bucks last time out. Charlotte’s big three of Frank Kaminsky, Malik Monk and Dwight Howard led them to a blowout win over the visitors. The Hornets’ bench scoring was the difference as they tallied 49 points.
Nicolas Batum, Michael Carter-Williams, Julyan Stone and Cody Zeller were all out for Charlotte. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist made his regular-season debut after missing the first three games of the year due to a personal issue. Treveon Graham suffered a right quad contusion in the first half but did return in the second half.
Game Story
After a back and forth first quarter, Charlotte completely took control of the game with a 13-0 run in the second period that led to a 25-point lead. The Hornets pushed their lead to 27 points at one point in the third quarter and never looked back. Charlotte’s bench changed the game as they outscored Denver’s bench 49-26.
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Player of the Game
Frank Kaminsky continued his outstanding play on the offensive end as he scored a game-high 20 points. He has now scored over 18 points in three consecutive games. The third-year NBA veteran shot 60% from the field and 40% from three off of the bench.
Kemba Walker added 19 points with 14 of them coming in the fourth quarter alone. Malik Monk scored a career-high 17 points off the bench while Jeremy Lamb put up 16 as he continues to fill in for Nicolas Batum in the starting lineup. Dwight Howard grabbed a huge double-double with 15 points and 19 rebounds.
The Nuggets were led by Nikola Jokic who scored 18 points to go along with 11 boards. Garry Harris (18) and Jamal Murray (16) were the only other Denver players in double-figures. Mason Plumlee did have eight points and 10 rebounds as a reserve.
Highlight of the Game:
Tweet of the Game:
Had to see a couple of my sons play tonight. pic.twitter.com/xfevraXVvF
— John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) October 25, 2017
"Quick Stings"
- The Hornets shot 47.5% (38-80) from the field, 43.3% (13-30) from three and 80.8% (21-26) from the free throw line.
- Dwight now has 15+ boards in first four games with Charlotte.
- Kemba joined Dell Curry as the only other Hornets’ player with 800 career three’s.
- Marcus Paige and Mangok Mathiang made their regular season debuts as every player who was available for the Hornets saw the court in this one.
- Mathiang became only the 5th Sudanese-born player to appear in an NBA regular-season game.
With the win, Charlotte improves to 1-0 against the Nuggets so far this year. The two sides will meet once more this season with that game set to take place on February 5th in Denver. After going 2-0 against the Mile High city team last season, the Hornets will be looking to do the same this year.
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In their next outing, the Charlotte Hornets will host the Houston Rockets in the second game of their current three-game homestand. It will be their first game against the James Harden-led Rockets this season. Steve Clifford’s side will look to make it two wins in a row against one of the best teams in the Western Conference.