The two-guard duo of Kemba Walker and Tony Parker came up big for the Charlotte Hornets once again on Sunday night vs Phoenix.
It wasn’t pretty, but the Charlotte Hornets were able to close out the Phoenix Suns on Saturday night and pick up a much-needed victory. The play of Kemba Walker and Tony Parker are the reason why Charlotte was able to come away with a win.
Those two have been so good this season, and they showed how deadly they can be once again on Sunday. Parker scored eight of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, keeping the team in the game while Walker was on the bench.
At the 5:46 mark of the fourth quarter, Kemba checked back into the game after a rest on the bench. He went on to score 18 points in just over four minutes of action. He had 11 points entering the fourth quarter, and ended up finishing with 29 points.
"Tony did a great job of holding it down and I wanted to come in, be aggressive and make plays. I was able to get downhill and get to the basket and free-throw line as well." - @KembaWalker on his 18-point fourth quarter in Phoenix #Hornets30 pic.twitter.com/SW7aBfhC18
— Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) January 7, 2019
Oh, let’s not forget the way Kemba ended the game, capping his fourth quarter eruption with a half-court bomb that was nothing but net.
COUNT IT!!! @KembaWalker with the half-court buzzer beater shot to put the ❗️ on tonight's victory!#HORNETS30 @TISSOT pic.twitter.com/H3j0pxJXYu
— Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) January 7, 2019
We’ve seen Kemba do this so many times over the course of his career, so it’s not really surprising anymore. The guy can take over a guy at any point in time, and having a winner in Tony Parker that the team can lean on when Walker is out of the game is huge.
Parker did work with Walker on the bench, then Walker came in and closed it out. It was a win that the Charlotte Hornets really needed, considering they were on a two-game losing streak and are currently in the midst of a brutal six-game Western Conference road trip.
This wasn’t the first time that these two have taken over late in a game this season. Back on December 28th, the Charlotte Hornets defeated the Brooklyn Nets. Tony Parker scored 17 fourth quarter points in that game, while Walker chipped in eight points down the stretch.
On December 7th, in a win over the Denver Nuggets, Walker dropped 12 fourth quarter points. Parker had just five fourth quarter points, but knocked down two crucial pull-up jumpers to help Charlotte get a win over the current best team in the Western Conference.
Snagging Parker as a free agent last summer was huge for the Charlotte Hornets. His play down the stretch of games has taken some pressure off of Kemba Walker, and allowed both of them to play at a high level late in games.
The duo of Kemba Walker and Tony Parker have won games for the Hornets throughout the season, and last night was just another example of how important these two are to the franchise.