Miles Bridges scored 24 points and Terry Rozier added on 22, but the Charlotte Hornets were overmatched by the Sacramento Kings and lost, 123-98.

Summary

The game got off to a weird start. Kevin Huerter stepped on a teammate’s foot during the opening tip and had to leave the game. Brandon Miller opened the scoring, which was much needed given his recent struggles. He went quiet after that, but Miles Bridges and Terry Rozier picked up the slack. On the other end, Domantas Sabonis and Keegan Murray did almost all of the Kings’ work until De’Aaron Fox hit back to back threes to put the visitors up 33-28 after one.

Those 3-pointers started an onslaught that carried through the second quarter. The Kings hit seven second quarter 3-pointers as part of a 38 point quarter. The Hornets were somehow able to keep pace. Bridges stayed super aggressive while Rozier hit the shots that came to him. They made six of their own 3-pointers and ‘only’ trailed by 12 at the half despite allowing the Kings to shoot 61% from the field and 55% from three.

The Kings kind of quietly built their lead up to 20 points early in the second half thanks to a bunch of points in the paint, but a run started by a couple of outside shots by Brandon Miller helped the Hornets cut the deficit back down a bit. It was otherwise a quiet, low scoring quarter. The Hornets trailed by 15 heading into the fourth.

The Hornets started the fourth quarter with Terry Rozier surrounded by inexperience–Nick Smith, James Bouknight, JT Thor, and Nathan Mensah. That lineup predictably struggled and did not score in three minutes and 13 seconds before Bridges entered the game to try to save them. It still took until a pair of Rozier free throws at the 7:53 mark before the Hornets got their first points, and by then the Hornets were down 24.

The Good

Miles Bridges and Terry Rozier continue to do a good job as the offensive beacons for the Hornets. They scored 46 points on 35 shots, and Bridges tacked on six assists to boot. Rozier was a little quieter than usual hunting for his offense, but Bridges complemented that by being extra aggressive in his own right.

Brandon Miller got his groove back. After a quiet first half, he came alive in the middle parts of the game. He hit four 3-pointers and was a lot more decisive than he had been in his more recent poor performances. 15 points on nine shots is a good night for the rookie.

Nick Smith Jr. made another pair of threes, though he missed more than we’re used to seeing. He’s quickly looking like a long term piece as a scorer off the bench if nothing else.

The Bad

The Hornets did not defend well, especially in the first half. It appeared to be little more than an effort problem. They got beat down the floor in transition and were slow to get out to shooters when the Kings got into their drive-and-kick game. They fixed the issue getting out to shooters in the second half, but it came at the expense of a lot of points in the paint.

Bryce McGowens was part of the aforementioned issues defensively. I personally didn’t pay too much attention, but Dell Curry mentioned a couple of times on the broadcast that he was suffering from too many lapses on the defensive end, which is why he eventually ceded minutes to Nick Smith Jr and James Bouknight after starting the game.

The Hornets bench was badly overmatched, which isn’t so much an indictment on them as it is the situation they’ve been thrust into given the injuries. Nick Smith, JT Thor, and Nathan Mensah were all -20 or worse during their minutes on the floor.

What’s Next

The Hornets travel to San Antonio for a Friday night meeting with number one overall pick Victor Wembanyama in a game that was supposed to be on ESPN but is no longer on ESPN due to bad basketball.