The Charlotte Hornets extended its win streak to five Friday night with a 121-118 win over the Indiana Pacers. LaMelo Ball was the team’s top performer, tallying 32 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists.
This game marks the second time these teams have met this season. Charlotte made a 23 point come-back to beat Indiana in the first meeting during the season opener.
The Hornets almost ran away with this game, but a third-quarter spark from Indiana’s bench gave the Pacers new life. Indiana coach Rick Carlisle stuck with that bench unit the rest of the game and almost stole the game right out of Charlotte’s hands.
Charlotte Hornets takeaways: The team struggled to close against Pacers
This game should have been over at the start of the fourth quarter, and the starters should have been resting on the bench for tomorrow’s game in Atlanta.
The Hornets led this game by as many as 25 points at one point. Over the course of the fourth quarter, the Pacers bench unit slowly chipped away at the lead, giving Indiana a chance to steal the win.
Careless turnovers allowed Indiana to get easy buckets quickly and it almost cost Charlotte at the end of the game. The Pacers had the ball during the game’s final possession and only needed a three to send the game to overtime. Luckily for the Hornets, they played solid defense and Indiana never got a clean look.
Charlotte Hornets takeaways: LaMelo Ball and Gordon Hayward are still the team’s best players
LaMelo Ball continues to prove each game that he is a superstar of the future in the NBA. In this game, he almost set a new career-high and was just two assists shy of a triple-double.
LaMelo Ball is a superstar.
— Swarm and Sting (@SwarmnSting) November 20, 2021
He was on fire in the first half scoring 21 points. He shot very an efficient 12-22 from the floor and made 4 of his 9 three-point attempts. He finished the game with 32 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists.
Gordon Hayward continues to be a consistent scoring option for the Hornets. He played a large role in the Hornets’ win, scoring 25 points and grabbing 4 rebounds.
Hayward and Ball are the two guys Charlotte’s offense runs through. When they both are feeling it the way they did tonight, the Hornets are in a good position to beat any team.
Charlotte Hornets takeaways: The Hornets have been really good at home
The Hornets went 4-0 during its homestand. So far this season they are 6-2 at home, with losses to Boston, in overtime, and Cleveland.
The Hive has been alive all year and this Charlotte team appears to feed off the energy its fans bring every home game. The atmosphere in the spectrum center has never been better and this team is producing wins because of it.
What’s next for the Charlotte Hornets?
The Hornets will play the 2nd night of a back-to-back when they travel to Atlanta. It will be a battle of superstar point guards with LaMelo Ball matching up against Trae Young.