Charlotte Hornets: Hold off Pistons, Move into 5th Seed
The Charlotte Hornets got a good win by fending off playoff hungry Detroit by fifteen.
The Charlotte Hornets won their sixth straight game as they dispatched the Detroit Pistons 118-103. This was the game where Kemba Walker finally returned to the status of mere mortal only scoring sixteen points. The Hornets withstood a barrage by the three perimeter players of the Pistons and shared the ball to gain victory.
For the second straight game the Hornets opened up with a monster first quarter, and the action was back and forth as the Hornets had a 38-32 advantage. This was not terribly surprising considering Stan Van Gundy and Steve Clifford were together on the Orlando Magic staff that had Dwight Howard. Both teams were designed to shoot the ball based off presence in the middle. The Hornets have broken slightly away from that formula, but still bring Big Al Jefferson off the bench.
The Hornets played a downer of a third quarter, but they still brought home the game in the fourth.
The Pistons never did get Andre Drummond going. He had one field attempt in the game for five points to go with nine rebounds. Instead it was point guard Reggie Jackson, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and former Bobcat draftee Tobias Harris who led the way. They had sixty-four points between them, but like the Pelicans game their effort did not trickle down to the bench.
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The Hornets continue to demonstrate good depth, which is the difference between them and teams like Detroit and New Orleans. All five starters scored in double figures with two more on the bench. Jeremy Lin almost joined their number with eight points. Once again Jefferson came off the bench to contribute twelve points.
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Though Walker scored twenty fewer points than the previous game, the offense had good ball movement as Nicolas Batum returned to the double digit assist column with eleven assists to go with his seventeen points. Cody Zeller provided ten points and Courtney Lee had a second big game with fifteen points.
The leading scorer of the game was Marvin Williams, who looks mighty comfortable in that four spot at this point in the season. Williams had twenty-two points and stretched the defense by shooting 5-8 from the three point line.
Next: Hornets beat former Hornets
The Hornets improved their record to 36-28 on the year. They have moved half a game in front of the Atlanta Hawks and are sitting in the fifth seed right now. The Miami Heat remain one and a half games ahead for that fourth playoff spot that brings a home series with it.
Their next game is against the Houston Rockets at home tonight. The Hornets should have a good shot to keep the momentum going.