Charlotte Hornets come up short against Washington Wizards
The Charlotte Hornets suffered their third straight defeat on Sunday evening, falling by a final score of 106-102 to the Washington Wizards.
Kelly Oubre Jr. led the way for Charlotte with 23 points, while Kyle Kuzma carried Washington with 28 points.
With the loss, the Hornets are now 4-14 on the season.
What went right for the Charlotte Hornets?
Kelly Oubre Jr. continues his strong play
Kelly Oubre Jr. led the Hornets in scoring for the second straight contest and is now averaging 19.4 points per game, which would be a new career high. He also grabbed seven rebounds in tonight’s contest, bringing his season average to 5.3 rebounds per night. This ranks third on the team behind only Mason Plumlee (8.7) and Nick Richards (6.5).
With Oubre Jr. on the final year of a two-year deal, his strong play may make him an attractive trade piece for Charlotte should the team decide to be sellers at this season’s trade deadline.
Nick Richards had another double-double
Nick Richards finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds, recording his fourth double-double of the season. Richards is averaging new career highs in points (9.8), rebounds (6.5), and blocks (0.8) in his third year.
What went wrong for the Charlotte Hornets?
Winning close games remains an issue
Once again, the Hornets found themselves in a close game and once again, they were unable to secure the victory. Of Charlotte’s 14 losses this season, eight have now come in games in which they held a lead during the fourth quarter or overtime.
Tonight, the Hornets entered the fourth quarter with an 79-77 advantage but were unable to hold on. An 11-2 scoring run by the Wizards to begin the final frame proved to be the difference, as the home team would never relinquish their lead from that point on.
Three-point shooting (or lack thereof)
The Hornets shot just 8/32 (25.0%) from three-point range, tied for their fourth-fewest three-point field goals and their fourth-lowest three-point percentage through the season’s first 18 games.
Charlotte is shooting just 31.9% from three-point range this season, the third-lowest mark in the NBA. If the season ended today, this would be the sixth-worst three-point shooting percentage for a season in 33 years of Charlotte basketball and the worst since 2014-15 (31.8%).
What is next for the Charlotte Hornets?
Wednesday, November 23rd- vs. Philadelphia 76ers (7:00 p.m. ET)