The Charlotte Hornets took advantage of an under-manned New Orleans Pelicans squad on Friday night. In an absolute landslide victory, the Hornets pulled away from the Pels, 142-120.
Scoring 81 points in the second half alone, Charlotte’s top-three offense was getting anything and everything all night. Shooting 59.8% from the field, sinking 22 of 47 triples, and making 16 of 20 free throws is a recipe for success in pretty much any NBA game, and that is what the Swarm achieved in this one.
Led by Miles Bridges’ impressive 29 minutes of action, Charlotte got off to an early first-half lead and never looked back. Bridges ended with 26 points, eight rebounds, nine assists, four triples, and one steal on the night. Shooting 60% from the field, he carried the team to victory almost single-handedly.
Aiding Bridges, Terry Rozier performed at the elite level he has been consistently achieving in March. Scary Terry finished with 25 points, seven triples, and eight assists on efficient shooting from the field.
LaMelo Ball continued his strangely average play. In a game where he could have had a monster performance based on the matchup, the second-year star had a pedestrian 17 points, six rebounds, nine assists, and three steals. The fact that a line like that is considered nothing special speaks to how incredible the young point guard truly is.
As for the bench, Charlotte got hyper efficient shooting from Cody Martin (6-7), Montrezl Harrell (7-9), Kelly Oubre Jr. (4-7), and Isaiah Thomas (5-8). All-in-all, every player dominated for the Hornets in a runaway victory, which was the prediction from the start.
With Charlotte heading to Oklahoma City on Monday, March 14, the Hornets should find another very winnable game against a thunder squad that is in the middle of a full-on rebuild.