Bryce McGowens and Mark Williams each scored a career high 22 points as the Charlotte Hornets pulled away from the Cleveland Cavaliers for a season ending win, 106-95.
Summary
The Hornets started about as poorly as a team could. They scored two points in the first six minutes of the game and it felt like more of their shots were hopeful prayers than legitimate shot attempts. They eventually found their way and crept back into the game thanks to good defense and strong interior scoring. They only trailed by five at the break despite going 0-of-19 from three in the first half.
The Cavs pulled their key pieces for the second half given their security in their playoff seeding. An ugly third quarter gave way to a dominant fourth quarter from the Hornets. They outscored the Cavs 36-20 and ran away with the game in the early half of the period. They were able to cruise to a win to end the season on a high note.
The Good
The season has mercifully ended.
The Hornets ended the season on a win, so we’ll call that momentum going into the offseason.
Mark Williams and Bryce McGowens both set career highs in scoring. Both scored 22 points. Williams chipped in 10 rebounds to boot. McGowens is showing the talent getting to the basket that got him drafted. Williams displayed some impressive touch and really good hands around the basket.
The Bad
The Hornets were 0-of-19 from three in the first half. They finished 6/32, so the second half was better, but 18.8% from three isn’t great.
It was the last game so we’re not gonna dwell on any more than that.
What’s Next
The season is over. It’s offseason time. We’ll keep an eye out for any changes to the coaching staff and/or front office in the coming days. Otherwise, next up is the lottery and NBA Draft Combine next month and the draft in June.
We’ll probably live stream our opinions and reactions of the start of the draft, so mark your calendars for that.