Charlotte Hornets: 1 Stud and 1 dud from Hornets win against Indiana
What a way to kick off the 2021-22 NBA season. The Charlotte Hornets opened the year off with a dramatic comeback victory against the Indiana Pacers. The team that completely embarrassed them in the Play-In Tournament just last season. Charlotte gets their revenge in the narrow one-point victory, 123-122.
The game started very rough for Charlotte. It looked as if we would be watching the same old Hornets from previous seasons. Indiana was hitting every three they took and Damontas Sabonis dominated in the paint. The Pacers looked to be completing a repeat of the blowout that ended Charlotte’s last season.
However, this time something happened. Somebody must have said something at halftime and it worked. Whether it was a player, James Borrego, Mitch Kupchak, his airness Michael Jordan himself. Hornets fans around the globe thank you.
Charlotte would do the improbable, down 23 they went on a 24-0 run in the third quarter to take the lead, hold on, and win the game.
One stud and one dud for the Charlotte Hornets victory against the Indiana Pacers
This came with some notable performances. Finally back from injury, Gordon Hayward showed everybody why Charlotte brought him in. Finishing the game with 27 points and a heroic display in the fourth quarter to seal the win for Charlotte.
When the Pacers started to pull away early in the game and shots weren’t falling for Charlotte, it was Ish Smith who stepped up to provide some spark scoring and energy. Smith displayed exactly why Charlotte brought him in to be the veteran backup point guard on this team.
When Charlotte finds themselves in tough situations, Smith can be relied on to step up and provide good energy off the bench. Smith finished the game with 14 points and 5 assists.
Lastly, a huge shoutout to PJ Washington who stepped up with ice in his veins to hit two clutch free throws to give Charlotte the lead, and then was asked to guard Sabonis on the final possession which ended up sealing the win for the Hornets.
However, there can only be one stud in this segment and we’ll add in one dud from game one of the regular season.