Charlotte Hornets fall to the Washington Wizards on the road, 107-93

Kemba Walker struggled mightily as the Charlotte Hornets couldn’t take down the Washington Wizards away from home.

The Charlotte Hornets (34-43) were defeated by the Washington Wizards (42-34) as they dropped their second straight game. After being mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, the Hornets decided to give plenty of minutes to rookie Malik Monk. They failed to slow down John Wall in his first game back since January 25th.

Charlotte was a bit shorthanded in this one as they were without Cody Zeller, Jeremy Lamb and Michael Carter-Williams. Lamb was a late scratch with left foot soreness while Zeller missed his 11th consecutive game with left knee soreness. Dwayne Bacon suffered a right ankle injury in the second half.

Game Story

Charlotte held a one-point lead at halftime but was shut down in the second half. Washington outscored them 57-42 in the final two quarters. The Wizards pushed their lead to as much as 16-points in the fourth quarter. The main reason for the Hornets’ struggles was the poor play of Kemba Walker who only had seven points on 3-9 shooting in 32 minutes.

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Player of the Game

Dwight Howard led the Hornets as he finished the game with 22 points and 13 rebounds. The eight-time all-star recorded his 48th double-double of the season and his 30th game with at least 20 points. Despite his great numbers, D12 was a -17 in +/- which was tied with Nicolas Batum for the worst on the team.

In 23 minutes, Malik Monk had 17 points and three assists on 7-17 shooting from the field. Willy Hernangomez was just short of a double-double with 11 points and nine boards off of the bench. Marvin Williams and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist each put up 10 points while Nic was held to only six points in 31 minutes.

The Wizards were led by Otto Porter Jr. who had a game-high 26 points to go along with 11 rebounds. John Wall added a double-double as well with 15 points and 14 assists while Bradley Beal put up 22 points. Mike Scott rounded out the double-digit scorers with 15 points off of Washington’s bench.

Highlight of the Night:

Tweet of the Game:

"Quick Stings"

• This game featured eight lead changes and six ties.
• Kemba scored under 10 points for only the fourth time this season.
• Monk scored in double-figures for the 11th time this year.
• Washington made 18 three’s compared to only six for Charlotte.
• Walker picked up a technical foul in this one.

With the loss, Charlotte fall to 3-1 on the year against Washington. The Hornets’ three-game win streak versus the Wizards came to an end as they failed to sweep the season series. Still, the Queen City team has won three of their last five regular-season games facing the Wiz.

Next: Why Sam Hinkie would be perfect for Charlotte

In their next game, the Hornets will return home to host the Philadelphia 76ers on Easter Sunday at 1:00 p.m. EST. It will be the fourth and final meeting between the two teams as Charlotte will look to avoid being swept by the Sixers this season. Steve Clifford’s side will look to get back in the win column and put an end to their two-game losing streak.