The Charlotte Hornets put up another incredible victory on Thursday, defeating the Eastern Conference's No. 3 seed, the New York Knicks, in dominating fashion.
The Hornets set the tone early, racing to a 27-19 lead at the end of the first quarter before holding off the Knicks' rallies and breaking the game open in the fourth quarter. A balanced offensive attack helped Charlotte take the 115-98 victory. LaMelo Ball led the charge with 25 points and eight assists, with Mark Williams and Miles Bridges finishing with double-doubles. Two other players, DaQuan Jeffries and Nick Smith Jr., scored in double-digits.
However, it was really defense that steered the Hornets' win. Thursday was the first time they held an opponent to fewer than 100 points since defeating the Los Angeles Lakers 100-97 right after the All-Star break, which was a month ago.
Hornets didn't allow too many second-chance points
Evidently, the Hornets were able to challenge New York's shots well for the most part, as the visitors shot just 36-90 from the field (40.0 percent) and 10-39 from three (25.6 percent).
What also helped the Buzz squad stop the Knicks from scoring more was limiting their offensive rebounds. They ended the contest with nine boards off their own misses, but Tom Thibodeau's crew couldn't get a second-chance opportunity early on.
It was only at the 7:01 mark of the second period that a Knicks player, OG Anunoby, finally snatched an offensive rebound. At that point, they had missed 19 of their 29 field-goal attempts, and momentum was already on Charlotte's squad.
Moving forward, Charles Lee has to put more emphasis on attacking the glass and taking advantage of the team's improving defense by not allowing its foes to feast on the boards on offense. The personnel should give him the tools needed to do so.
Williams, when engaged and healthy, can be an elite rebounder. It's unclear if his stint with the Hornets will extend beyond this campaign, but if the front office moves him again, it should seek a replacement who can crash the glass as well as he does. Helping in that department is the big-bodied Jusuf Nurkic and the always-energetic Moussa Diabate. Bridges has also been solid in crashing the glass, grabbing a career-high 7.8 boards per game this season.
Only time will tell what the Hornets' roster looks like next season. Whatever the case turns out to be, the organization has to make sure defense and rebounding remain points of emphasis for the squad.