Hornets take down Cavaliers, win second straight
The Charlotte Hornets were back in action on Wednesday evening, and for the second straight time, they emerged victorious. Although this matchup did not feature the suspenseful theatrics of Sunday’s double overtime victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, the Hornets’ young prospects had their best performance to date in their 91-80 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Bryce McGowens led the way for Charlotte with 24 points on 70% from the field and 83% from three-point range. His 24 points is the highest mark for Charlotte in a Summer League game since July 5th, 2019, when Dwayne Bacon had 25 points in a matchup with the Golden State Warriors. While McGowens’ playmaking (just one assist to three turnovers) and defense could still use some improvement, he is proving that he has the scoring ability necessary to make some noise at the professional level. Already on a two-way contract, McGowens is showing that he could be a factor in Charlotte as early as this season.
Mark Williams drew his first start of Summer League and took advantage of the opportunity, posting 12 points, eight rebounds, two blocks, and two steals on 67% shooting in 20 minutes of action. While his minutes were still roughly the same as they were in the first two games, Williams more than doubled his previous high water scoring output.
Fellow big man Kai Jones also had a standout performance, posting 11 points, six rebounds, and two blocks on 71% shooting. After an opening game that saw Jones shoot 0-10 from three-point range and a second matchup that saw him post a -18 plus-minus, Jones bounced back in a major way. Jones looked much more comfortable playing center after having played power forward throughout the first two games of Summer League. While this raises some new questions, such as how minutes will be distributed between he and Williams, it was an encouraging development nonetheless.
LJ Figueroa continued to make a positive impact despite his streak of perfect shooting coming to an end. Figueroa dished out two assists to go along with six rebounds, posting a team-high +14 plus-minus. LiAngelo Ball saw his first extended action after playing just five minutes on Sunday after clearing health and safety protocols. Ball posted 12 points on 56% shooting, and while he likely does not represent a long-term piece for Charlotte, it was nonetheless encouraging to see him have a solid performance. Meanwhile, Brady Manek had another solid outing after having a game-high +21 plus-minus in Sunday’s matchup with the Lakers. Manek’s 12 points was his highest total to date, and he managed to grab seven rebounds, the second-highest total for Charlotte.
The Hornets will look to continue the positive momentum tomorrow night
After shooting just 28.1% from three-point range in their first two Summer League games, Charlotte shot 39.4% from three-point range tonight and outscored Cleveland by 24 points from beyond the arc. The Hornets have been demonstrably better from game to game and will look to continue the trend tomorrow night when they face off with the Chicago Bulls, who have an identical 2-1 record in Summer League thus far. With less than 24 hours between games, Charlotte will look to carry the positive momentum from this game into tomorrow night’s matchup.