Charlotte Hornets fall to the Indiana Pacers in final home game of the season, 123-117

Malik Monk‘s 22-point performance isn’t enough to lift the Charlotte Hornets past the Indiana Pacers in their home finale.

The Charlotte Hornets (35-46) were defeated by the Indiana Pacers (48-33) as they’ve now lost five of their last six games. Malik Monk was the only Charlotte player to reach 20 points as he led a fourth-quarter run that ultimately came up short. The Queen City team failed to slow down Indiana’s dynamic duo of Domantas Sabonis and Victor Oladipo.

The Hornets were without Cody Zeller (left knee soreness), Michael Carter-Williams (left shoulder surgery), Dwayne Bacon (right ankle sprain) and Treveon Graham (concussion protocol) in this one. Two-way player Marcus Paige was active for Charlotte.

Game Story

Charlotte trailed by as much as 20 points in the fourth. Monk helped lead a 20-4 run for the Hornets in the fourth quarter as they made things interesting down the stretch. They got to within four points of the Pacers. Charlotte actually outscored Indiana 36-28 in the final period. The Charlotte Hornets held a halftime ceremony for Steve Martin who is retiring at the end of the season. He’s called every game for the team for the past 30 years.

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Player of the Game

Malik Monk finished with a team-high 22 points to go along with five assists and three made three-point shots. He committed only one turnover as the rookie scored 20+ points for the third consecutive game. The Kentucky product scored 10 points in the fourth quarter alone.

Marvin Williams added 16 points and five rebounds while Willy Hernangomez had 14 points and eight boards off of the bench. Jeremy Lamb and Kemba Walker each ended the game with 12 points. Dwight Howard grabbed a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds in this one. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist rounded out Charlotte’s double-digit scorers with 11 points.

The Pacers were led by Domantas Sabonis who put up a career-high 30 points on 61.9% shooting while also grabbing eight rebounds. Victor Oladipo chipped in with 27 points on 80% shooting from the field. Bojan Bogdanovic, Cory Joseph and Glenn Robinson III each scored 13 points. Former Hornet Lance Stephenson had eight points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists off of Indiana’s bench.

Highlight of the Night:

Tweet of the Game:

"Quick Stings"

• Charlotte ends the season with a 21-20 record at home.
• Dwight recorded his 52nd double-double of the season.
• This game featured three ties and one lead change.
• The Hornets turned the ball over 21 times in this one.
• The Pacers outscored the Hornets 56-42 in the paint.

With the loss, Charlotte falls to 1-2 on the season against Indiana. The Hornets have now lost three of their last four regular-season games to the Pacers and have yet to win back to back game versus IND since 2015-16. If the Queen City team wins their final meeting with Indiana, they will tie their season series at two games apiece for the second consecutive year.

Next: Offseason issues for Charlotte to address

In their next outing, the Hornets will hit the road to take on the Indiana Pacers in their season finale on Tuesday, April 10th. Steve Clifford’s side will look to end a rather disappointing 2017-18 campaign on a bit of a high note with a victory over a playoff-bound team.