Charlotte Bobcats lose to New Orleans Hornets 98-95
Eric Gordon and the New Orleans Hornets made it 18 straight losses for the Charlotte Bobcats in a narrow 98-95 game, and the Bobcats continue to slip. Both of these teams are now 7-23 on the season, and this is one loss that the Bobcats should definitely be disappointed in themselves for.
Sam Sharpe-USA TODAY Sports
A few players, however, can hold their head high and the main guy is rookie Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. Despite suffering a bruised eye in the second half that hurt his effectiveness and caused him to wear goggles, MKG was insane and finished with 22 points on 11-14 shooting. To be able to play at that high of a level while also being significantly affected by an injury is definitely no short feat.
MKG also added nine rebounds and blocked two shots and was the most impressive player of anyone on both sides. Fellow young gun Kemba Walker was at his best in a 15-point game that also featured Walker’s floor general skills. The former UConn Huskies superstar dished out nine assists and helped the cause on defense with two steals.
For the Hornets, it’s impossible to overlook the contributions that Greivis Vasquez made in this game with 16 points on 7-13 shooting. Maybe more impressive were the other statistics that he racked up, as Vasquez also had eight assists, four steals, and four rebounds. That kind of passing and defense doesn’t go unnoticed, and Vasquez is one of the most fun players to watch. I remember when he played for Maryland, he was one of the most emotional leaders in college basketball.
Anyway, Hakim Warrick also had a solid game for the Charlotte Bobcats (turning back over to the “home team” of this blog), and that’s important given the severe ankle sprain that Byron Mullens suffered. Warrick is on-and-off, but he was mostly “on” last night with a 12-10 double-double in an efficient night that also saw Warrick playing some solid defense.
Ryan Anderson went 19-8 for the victors in just 28 minutes, and shooting guard Roger Mason Jr. had a +13 for the game to go with a well-rounded 13-6-3 line.
The Bobcats made nearly half of their shots from the floor and drained 40% of their three-point attempts, but they went just 65% from the charity stripe. That is a small reason why they lost this game, because the seven points they left on the board were enough to hurt them. They actually led in rebounds and field goal percentage, in addition to holding the Hornets to no points on the fast break.
You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter @SorianoJoe.