Charlotte Hornets: Total Domination Earns the Hornets Fourth Straight Win
The Charlotte Hornets played a near-perfect game against the New York Knicks, extending their winning streak to four games.
The Charlotte Hornets came into their Monday night showdown against the New York Knicks, on a three game winning streak, and hell-bent on making it four in a row, which is exactly what they did. The Hornets came out hot, going on a 10-0 run to start the game. This was a sight for sore eyes for fans, being that the Hornets have started off slow in most of their games this year.
After leading the Knicks by a lot, the Hornets allowed them to make a run of their own and actually going ahead of the Hornets 38-37 in the second quarter. This lead wasn’t held long before the Hornets jumped back ahead one possession later. The Hornets went into the half up 57-50.
The Hornets came out of the locker room determined to win this game, and that is exactly how they played the rest of the game – determined. The Hornets controlled the entire second half of the game, beating the New York Knicks 109-88, and further extending their win streak to four games.
Not much was doing for most of the Hornets’ players in the first 24 minutes. In the first half, Rozier had 4 points, PJ Washington scored 5, Miles Bridges scored 3, the star rookie, LaMelo Ball, scored 0 points, and Devonte’ Graham actually had a decent first half, scoring 10 points. The one exception to the Hornets lackluster start was Gordon Hayward, scoring a career high in points for a single half, getting 28 points. He went 10/10 on free-throws in the first half.
The Knicks seemed to have made it a point to shut Hayward down in the second half, because he didn’t have as good of a second half as he did the first. That doesn’t matter much because he still led the team in scoring with 34 points, including 11 of 17 (64.7%) from the field and 2 for 2 from three.
Hayward has continued to show the Hornets’ front office that he is worth every penny that they are paying him. With each game that he plays in teal, purple, and white, the more chemistry he continues to build with his teammates. Signing him to that big of a contract drew a lot of critics, but so far he has silenced them.
The rest of the team improved their play in the second half. After going for 0 points in the first half, LaMelo Ball would finish the game with 8 points. He also led the team in rebounds with 14. Miles Bridges also had a much better second half. He ended the game scoring 13 points on 5 of 6 (83.3%) from the field, including 2 of 2 from three-point range.
PJ Washington finished the game with 13 points, going 36.4% (4/11) from the field, including 40% (2/5) from three. Terry Rozier finished the game with 12 points, hitting 4 of 8 (50%) from the field, including 2 of 5 (40%) from beyond the three-point line.
One of the big takeaways from this game was the impressive game by Devonte’ Graham. We all know that he has been on a bit of drought. He seemed to have put that drought to bed in this game against the Knicks. He was second on the team in scoring, getting 19 points on 7 of 15 (46.7%) from the field, including 2 of 8 (25%) from three. He also 3 of 4 from the free-throw line and had 7 assists.
With the Hornets extending their winning streak to four games, they look ahead to a Wednesday night showdown against the Dallas Mavericks. While it’s still early in season, there is no doubt that Coach James Borrego feels good about being 6-5 and winning four straight games. This win is even more satisfying because the Charlotte Hornets played a near perfect game. On to the Mavs!
