Hornets Recap: Swarm Blitz Mavs In Crucial Home Win
The Charlotte Hornets hosted the Dallas Mavericks in the second game of their five-game home stand. Facing their toughest opponent in quite some time, the Swarm had their work cut out for them in this one.
With all eyes and expectations on Luka Doncic and the Mavs, Charlotte came out and blitzed Dallas in the first and third quarters. The Swarm outscored the Mavs 76-52 over the course of those frames. Despite losing the other two quarters by a combined three points, the Hornets captured a huge victory over the Mavs, 129-108.
Read. Miles Bridges’ Case For Most Improved Player. light
With those numbers, the Swarm not only covered the spread, which favored the Mavs by 1.5, but they also managed to hit the over as well, which was set at over-under 223.5. That marks five out of seven games that the Hornets have hit the over, which continues to be the safe bet with the Hornets sporting the highest-scoring offense in the NBA.
Despite a Hornets’ defensive focus being placed on Luka’s offensive prowess, Doncic put up 37 points, four rebounds, and three assists against Charlotte. Thankfully, the supporting cast failed to show up, and Charlotte held Dallas under 44% shooting as a team. Coupled with shooting 36.8% from the three-point line, the Mavs could not sink enough shots to keep up with the Swarm in this one.
On the other hand, Charlotte was on fire from deep. Connecting on 20-42 triples, the Swarm continued their red-hot shooting streak. LaMelo Ball, P.J. Washington, and Terry Rozier connected on 14-24 triples. Miles Bridges led the team in scoring and sank three triples of his own.
In a game where four of the starters could do no wrong, Mason Plumlee and the reserves could not produce the same level of success. Although the aforementioned four starters were a +96 in their 120 minutes, the rest of the Hornets were +9 in 120 minutes.
This win was crucial for the Hornets. With the Miami Heat clinching the Southeast Division yesterday, the Hornets are officially playing for a “wild card” playoff berth.
While it is unlikely that Charlotte can make it up to the sixth seed and secure a spot in the playoffs, they are inching closer and closer to the Brooklyn Nets for the all-important eighth seed, which ensures at least two games in the play-in tournament.
Next. How every current Charlotte Hornets player performed in March Madness. dark
The Hornets have the day off on Sunday before hosting the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday in their third consecutive home game. Riding a four-game winning streak, the Swarm will look to remain red-hot as the season draws to a close.