Charlotte Hornets rookie Kon Knueppel (right) releases a jump shot over Los Angeles Lakers guard Marcus Smart Monday. The Lakers won, 121-111, with Knueppel narrowly missing a triple-double (19 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists). JEFF SINER jsiner@charlotteobserver.com
You would think snow flurries in mid-November would be enough to keep a Southern crowd from venturing into Charlotte’s uptown on Monday night.
But you would have thought wrong in this case, as a sellout crowd of 19,537 in Spectrum Center watched the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Charlotte Hornets, 121-111, in a game that was entertaining but once again exposed the home team’s flaws.
This was a Lakers team ripe for the taking in one major way — LeBron James was out due to injury, much to the disappointment of the Lakers fans dressed in purple and gold who circled this game on the calendar months ago and comprised at least half the crowd.
But the perpetually injured Hornets had two banged-up absent standouts of their own — LaMelo Ball, missing his fourth game in a row, and Brandon Miller, missing his eighth straight.
The Hornets (3-7) still gave a good effort in this one, as promising rookie Kon Knueppel narrowly missed a triple-double and Miles Bridges scored 34 points.
But that wasn’t enough, as Los Angeles (8-3) got 38 points from Luka Doncic and sent the Hornets (3-7) spiraling to their sixth loss in their past seven games.
Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic, left and Charlotte Hornets guard Sion James, right, have a discussion about James’ defense during action on Monday at Spectrum Center. The Lakers defeated the Hornets 121-111. JEFF SINER jsiner@charlotteobserver.com
The loss was fitting, as it was the finale of a quintessential Queen City losing streak by Charlotte’s three top-level pro teams over the past four days. It all happened within a one-mile square.
First it was Charlotte FC, bowing out of the Major League Soccer playoffs despite home-field advantage Friday night at Bank of America Stadium.
Then it was the Carolina Panthers, losing to New Orleans, one of the NFL’s worst teams, at the same stadium on Sunday with a pathetic offensive performance.
And then on Monday it was the Hornets, facing one of the better teams in the league and falling short, in part because of their penchant for throwing the ball away.
Yes, these Hornets have started out in a same ol’, same ol’ kind of way. Once again, the Hornets are playing with two of their top three scorers out in Ball and Miller, who only played together in one full game — one! — before taking a ride on the usual injury carousel that the Hornets always have spinning in Spectrum Center.
This time Miller has a shoulder subluxation and Ball has an ankle impingement — worrisome because Ball’s ankles have been problematic for so much of his time in the NBA. Each might be back sometime this month, but you never can really tell with the Hornets.
Charlotte Hornets rookie Kon Kneuppel, left, fights to get a pass off to a teammate as Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic, right, applies defensive pressure during action on Monday at Spectrum Center. The Lakers defeated the Hornets 121-111. JEFF SINER jsiner@charlotteobserver.com
Knueppel (19 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists), the rookie from Duke, continues to play very well through his first NBA games for Charlotte. But he’s not used to losing this often and sounded a little frustrated Monday night.
“We shot 48% from three tonight, and we lost the game because we can’t take care of the ball,” Knueppel said. The Hornets had 22 turnovers — Knueppel committed three of them — while the Lakers’ Marcus Smart had seven steals by himself. “Seven steals is incredible,” marveled Lakers teammate Austin Reaves, who had 24 points.
Knueppel also realizes that it’s difficult to know exactly what sort of team Charlotte will be without Ball and Miller.
“It’s hard when we’re not whole,” he said. “It’s really, really hard to see where we’re at. ... And so that’s frustrating, and losing is frustrating, but we’ll keep at it.”
Charlotte Hornets head coach Charles Lee yells instructions to his team during action against the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday at Spectrum Center. The Lakers defeated the Hornets 121-111. JEFF SINER jsiner@charlotteobserver.com
Charlotte had a 40-point first quarter Monday, leading by four points at that stage and only trailing L.A. by two at the half. But the the Lakers — making their only appearance in Charlotte this season — outscored the Hornets 31-15 in the third quarter and grabbed control of the game. Charlotte made a couple of small runs in the fourth, but never got really close.
At one point, with the Lakers comfortably leading by double digits, a chant rang out in the stands: “We want Bronny! We want Bronny!”
They didn’t get him. LeBron’s son was one of two healthy Lakers who head coach J.J. Redick didn’t play.
Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic winks and gives the thumbs up to his teammates following a play against the Charlotte Hornets on Monday at Spectrum Center. JEFF SINER jsiner@charlotteobserver.com
Doncic, meanwhile, was his usual all-star self. Besides those 38 points and seven assists, he also offhandedly made a 75-footer that didn’t count after a called timeout.
The fans — given that many were cheering for the Lakers — saw enough highlight plays to go home relatively happy.
Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic, right, celebrates a basket by teammate and guard Austin Reaves in the closing moments of action against the Charlotte Hornets on Monday at Spectrum Center. The Lakers defeated the Hornets 121-111. JEFF SINER jsiner@charlotteobserver.com
If they lived in Charlotte, they had experienced 70-degree temperatures on Sunday and then snow flurries on Monday — the happy wonder of unpredictable weather.
The Hornets, though, look very predictable at the moment.
And that’s not a good thing.
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