The Charlotte Hornets made 23 3-pointers and led by as many as 33 points as they pulled off a surprise win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, 124-112.
The Summary
The Hornets started the only way they know how—slowly. It took them two-and-a-half minutes to get their first points on the board, but once they got going, they actually got going. Naz Reid started it and then Grayson Allen joined the fun with Royce O’Neale getting a couple of uncontested dunks off steals as well. The Hornets actually led by a point after the first quarter. The second quarter was the Tidjane Salaün show, and in a good way! He scored 13 points with three threes, an and-1, and a couple of free throws. His play was the lynchpin of a big Hornets run that helped them out to a 15 point lead with five minutes left in the half. They added a little to that lead as the half went on and ultimately went into the break with 69 points on the boards and a 16 point lead.
The intermission did nothing to slow the Hornets’ roll. Naz Reid and Grayson Allen each hit another three early in the third quarter. Ryan Kalkbrenner authoritatively stuffed an Evan Mobley dunk attempt, which started another Hornets run. The dam completely broke about midway through the quarter when the Hornets scored 16 straight points in less than three minutes. They led by as many as 33 points at the tail end of that run. Meleek Thomas made a wild jumper to end the run, and that sparked a response from Cleveland. They narrowed the Hornets lead to 27 heading into the fourth.
A 27 point lead in the final quarter should be insurmountable. It turned out that it was, but it got a lot hairier than anyone would have liked. The Hornets got called for two fouls on one Thomas Bryant layup attempt, which resulted in a rare “shoot four to make three” situation for Bryant. He made three, and then Thomas made a floater for a five point possession. The Cavs narrowed the margin into single digits relying entirely on their deep bench unit. They made a number of tough, quick shots, and the Hornets pressed to find good looks on offense. Things finally settled down when Ryan Kalkbrenner snared a defensive rebound in heavy traffic then reeled in an offensive rebound that led to a dagger three from Royce O’Neale to extend the lead back to 13 points with under three minutes to play. Kalkbrenner blocked a shot and forced a miss on the last two Cavs’ possessions to put the game to bed.
The Good
This is what these Hornets are supposed to look like, and it was without Brandon Miller, Kon Knueppel, or Moussa Diabate. They made 23 3-pointers and got contributions from all over the roster. Every Hornet that played except for Coby White and the centers made at least two shots from deep. When they did miss, they wholly dominated the Cavs on the boards. The team had 17 offensive rebounds to just 28 defensive rebounds for Cleveland, which helped the Hornets take 11 more shots than the Cavs.
Ryan Kalkbrenner dominated the game with just 8 points. He did the perfect Moussa Diabate impression. He was credited with 15 rebounds, 10 on the offensive glass. He also added three assists and three blocks, and the Hornets outscored the Cavs by 20 points during his minutes. His block on Mobley was probably the highlight of the game and was a catalyst for the dominant stretch the Hornets played in the third quarter.
How about that second quarter from Tidjane Salaun. I think that has to be the best he’s ever looked in a Hornets uniform. He made his threes and was playing with a swagger we haven’t seen much from him. We’ll see if he’s able to build off that.
The Hornets needed Naz Reid and Grayson Allen to be offensive stars with Knueppel and Miller out and White still working his way back, and they did that. Reid had a rough fourth quarter, but he and Allen carried the offense for long stretches of the game. He’s starting to find a little bit more of a groove as a mismatch hunter in the post and is making better decisions with the ball. Grayson Allen is just Grayson Allen. He poured in six threes and made a number of sneaky plays when putting the ball on the floor. The two combined for 52 points.
Kudos to Sion James for shooting his way out of his slump. He’s now made 47% of his threes in November.
The Bad
The Hornets have had some issues with fourth quarter offense in the games they’ve been leading in this season. Last night was no exception. They’re struggling to find the balance between killing clock and running effective offense. They play a little tense, and hopefully that gets better as the season goes on.
What’s Next
The Hornets actually get two whole days off to prepare for a reunion of source. They’ll be in Phoenix on Thursday to take on Miles Bridges (and injured Mark Williams) and the Phoenix Suns.
