The Charlotte Hornets beat the Golden State Warriors on Sunday night by a score of 106-102. Charlotte’s win capped off maybe the best five-day stretch in Charlotte sports history.
Golden State entered the game tonight as the hottest and best team in the NBA at 11-1. This would be the second and final time they would matchup against the Hornets, with the first meeting happening just a couple of weeks ago on Nov. 3, a game that Golden State won comfortably, 114-92.
The Hornets weren’t going to let the Warriors get the best of them again. Led by 20+ point performances from Miles Bridges, LaMelo Ball, and Terry Rozier, Charlotte secured a massive victory to move above .500 before they get their first 2 day rest period of the season.
3 Takeaways from Charlotte Hornets win vs. Golden State: Terry Rozier has no quit in his game
As fans, we tend to have short memories, but one thing we should never forget is that Terry Rozier has no quit in his game. This was looking like it was going to be a rough game for Rozier. At halftime, he had no points and still managed to finish tonight’s game with 20 points and a clutch fourth-quarter performance.
This included winning a clutch jump ball against Warriors forward, Draymond Green (5 inches taller) with roughly 20 seconds left in the game. When Rozier is playing like this, he is undoubtedly one of the best players in the league.
3 Takeaways from Charlotte Hornets win vs. Golden State: James Borrego is not afraid to trust his gut.
You could tell this from other games this season, but playing in a tight game against the 11-1 Warriors it becomes even more noticeable. James Borrego is not afraid of trusting his gut. Not playing Gordon Hayward in the clutch moments of this game is an extremely bold move, and it worked out.
On multiple occasions this season Borrego has gone with the hot hand(s) to finish out games and tonight that ended up being a lineup consisting of Ball, Rozier, Bridges, Cody Martin, and Jalen McDaniels. Even when the Hornets were just going to run the clock down and shoot free throws, Hayward stayed on the bench.
Borrego trusts his players, regardless of how much money they’re being paid or what draft pick they were selected with, and that instills a lot of confidence in his team.
3 Takeaways from Charlotte Hornets win vs. Golden State: No city had a better sports weekend than the Queen City.
Cam Newton is back with the Carolina Panthers, LaMelo Ball is a Hornet, Miles Bridges is very good, the Hornets are on a three-game win streak and both Charlotte teams just beat the best team in their respective leagues.
There’s no better time to be a fan of Charlotte sports.