Charlotte Hornets: Sweep the Nuggets behind Kemba’s 31
The Charlotte Hornets beat the Denver Nuggets 122-114 behind some major three point shooting.
The Charlotte Hornets were facing some trouble against the Denver Nuggets last night as they entered the second half. The Hornets responded by deciding to open the court up even more than normal and the results were a rain of three pointers that brought the team back and even defeated Nikola Jokic’s triple-double performance.
The Hornets made the move to pull Cody Zeller and replace him with Frank Kaminsky. Then they surrounded Kaminsky with a lineup of Kemba Walker, Marvin Williams, and Marco Belinelli to produce enough offense to win. Kaminsky scored twenty-two while Belinelli added eleven. Jeremy Lamb added thirteen points to make the Hornets bench impactful in ways it has not been this season. Miles Plumlee even got on the board.
However this was still a Kemba Walker game. Walker scored thirty-one and refused to exit in the fourth quarter with the game still in doubt. The Hornets fortunately gave Walker the support he needed to get over the top this time.
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While sweeping the Nuggets has some value in itself, the Hornets were really focused on what this win would do for their playoff chances down the road. The win kept them in the conversation at least. They have risen above the Detroit Pistons, but are still two games back of the eighth and seventh playoff spots. Those spots are occupied by the Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers. The Chicago Bulls are also currently ahead of the Hornets in the standings.
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To succeed and make the playoffs, the Hornets will have to continue this game by game attitude. They are nowhere near comfortable in their situation right now. The Nuggets game did at least reveal the usefulness of the five out lineup. It is possible that we could see more of that as the Hornets look for contributions from everywhere to advance.