Miles Bridges scored 27 and Vasilije Micic matched his season high with 20, but the Charlotte Hornets still lost to the Los Angeles Clippers, 112-104.

The summary

Neither team got off to the best of offensive starts. The Hornets went the entire first quarter without making three but were still able to keep pace with the Clippers. Neither team went on any sort of significant run in a very evenly played first quarter. The Hornets 16 of their 23 points at the rim while they searched for their outside shooting stroke. The two teams were tied after one.

Vasa Micic finally hit the Hornets’ first three of the game early in the second quarter. That was quickly followed by a streak of nine straight misses that was snapped by a Blake Griffin-esque throw down by Moussa Diabate. The rest of the quarter featured a lot of tenacious Hornets defense and offensive rebounding that helped keep them close. They fell behind by five at the half thanks to a full court pass from Ivica Zubac to Derrick Jones Jr with less than two seconds left.

The third quarter was very similar to the first. The teams traded buckets at a very similar rate all quarter. Kevin Porter Jr made a three in the final seconds to set the Clippers lead to 10 heading into the fourth.

Micic, Bridges, and Diabate combined to lead the Hornets through the fourth quarter. They were able to get the Hornets as close as two points, but they simply didn’t have the firepower to keep up down the stretch. Norman Powell mostly put the game away with some help from his friends and a handful of Hornets turnovers.

The Good

That trio that led the fourth quarter push were the only three Hornets to contribute much of significance.

Miles Bridges was ice cold from deep again, but he still managed a decently efficient game as the team’s go-to player. He did a really good job creating offense. Most of his points were self generated off his own drives, and he managed to make plays for teammates as well. The Hornets might actually be somewhat formidable if they get this version of Bridges when LaMelo and Brandon Miller are healthy. He seems to struggle to find his place sometimes when everyone is healthy.

Vasa Micic had one of his better games as a Hornet. He scored an efficient 20 points and did a better job taking care of the ball than he normally does when given a lot of ball handling responsibilities. He’s scored in double figures in each of his last five games and seems to play a lot better when he gets a steady dose of minutes to find his rhythm. I expect we’ll continue to see decent play out of him until LaMelo returns.

Moussa Diabate was a menace off the bench. He chased down seven offensive rebounds and was more aggressive than normal finishing around the basket. There was a point in the second quarter (I think) where he was leading the Hornets in scoring. The coaching staff is clearly trying to push the same message to Moussa that they did to Mark Williams–if you get the ball near the basket, yam on people.

The Bad

It didn’t take long for Josh Okogie to get bitten by the ol’ injury bug. He seemed to pull a hamstring going in for layup after a steal. He left the game and didn’t return.

The Hornets lost by eight points, and off the top of my head I can think of four instances where someone smoked an open layup under the basket. Miles Bridges, Moussa Diabate, Taj Gibson, and KJ Simpson were all guilty of it, and Simpson had a second slightly less egregious miss that would have cut the Hornets deficit to five with about two-and-a-half minutes left. Those were kind of the difference in the game.

Nick Smith’s cold streak continues, and I’m not sure I know of any Hornet that’s been as brutal from the field as he’s been the last week or so. He’s fully bottomed out the last three games. He’s missed all 14 attempts he’s taken from three in these games and is just 6-of-28 (21.4%) from the field. He started so well when he got inserted into the starting lineup. You wonder if he’s hit a bit of a wall.

He’s here to be a mentor more than a player, so I don’t want to bash him too much, but Taj Gibson has been a bit of a rough watch when he’s gotten extended minutes. He’s flubbed more than his fair share of layups and is a step slow on both ends of the floor.

What’s Next

The Hornets play tonight against a Nuggets team one night after they edged out a 137-134 over the 76ers in Philadelphia.