It wasn’t always pretty, but the Charlotte Hornets extended their winning streak to eight with a win over the Rockets.
The Summary
It took a few possessions for the game to get going, but once it did, both teams took turns putting the ball in the bucket pretty efficiently. LaMelo Ball and Kon Knueppel had strong opening quarters and helped the Hornets to a double digit lead. In a bit of misfortune, Brandon Miller got called for this third foul of the opening quarter trying to yam on Clint Capela. He would sit the remainder of the first half. The Rockets cleared out their deficit, but an uptick in Hornets energy took the Hornets back out ahead. They led by 12 at the break.
Kon Knueppel started the second half with a three, but the Rockets quickly answered. And just as quickly, Brandon Miller picked up his fourth foul. He stayed in the game for a bit, and the Hornets were able to maintain and eventually add to their advantage as the bench groups filtered in. The lead ballooned to 16 heading into the fourth.
The fourth quarter was quite a chore to watch outside of a short scoring display from Brandon Miller at the beginning of it. If you’re debating on going back to watch this game after the fact, I’d recommend you skip it after Miller’s little run. The Hornets went into lead preservation mode very, very early, and it completely took them out of their offensive rhythm. Most possessions started with less than 10 seconds on the shot clock, and that led to a lot of forced shots and errant passes. The lead was large enough that the Rockets couldn’t overcome it, but there were moments that got a little nervy. Miles Bridges made a three that felt like a dagger, and that was sandwiched between free throws from LaMelo and Knueppel that added some cushion.
The Good
It was strength against strength on the glass. The Rockets entered the game rebounding over 40% of their own misses. The Hornets have been one of the better defensive rebound teams in the league, and they won the battle. The Hornets rebounded over 70% of the Rockets’ misses, keeping them well below their usual production on the offensive glass. Everyone contributed, and no one really got caught napping when shots went up.
In that same vein, Charles Lee’s group absolutely stymied the Rockets in the paint. Some easy buckets near the end of the game boosted the Rockets’ percentages, but when the game was competitive, they had no answer for the Hornets defense. As has been the case most during most of this streak, the Hornets contested every shot inside arc and did a fantastic job crowding the paint when the Rockets would drive. Neither Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson, who both do most of their damage in the paint, were able to crack double figures in scoring.
Kon Knueppel put on a display of who he is beyond the 3-point shooting. He used his size to bully Reed Sheppard and blew past Alperen Sengun a number of times. He only made two threes but still managed to score 24 points on just 13 shots. Not only that, he was often tasked as the primary defender on Kevin Durant. He does it all.
I don’t think I’ve given Josh Green enough credit for how he’s played in recent weeks. He doesn’t always put up big numbers in the box score, but he can have a palpable effect on the game. That was the case last night. He made every one of his shot attempts and was credited with four steals. That doesn’t fully illustrate how disruptive he was both on the glass and defensively. It is no coincidence that he finished with a team high +18 plus-minus.
Miles Bridges had a good game with Brandon Miller in foul trouble. He was a big catalyst for the Hornets run in the first half to give them a big halftime lead. He provided a big bucket in the fourth quarter when the Hornets were flailing. His production came organically in the flow of the game. It was a perfect encapsulation of this iteration of the Hornets. One player has a rough night, someone else steps up to fill the void.
The Bad
The turnovers. Kon Knueppel and Brandon Miller each had six, and way too many of them were bad passes or lost dribbles. Live ball turnovers and runouts are the one thing that can undo the defense the Hornets are playing right now.
The fourth quarter game management was less than ideal. They slowed the pace down to kill clock, which is good, but they played terrible offense when they tried to score. They had similar problems in the Spurs game. I’d like to see them stay a little more aggressive trying to put the game away instead of overly focusing on killing time.
Tre Mann is going to get some time to shine with Collin Sexton traded and Coby White on the mend. Perhaps he was pressing with the opportunity, but he had a real hard time getting the ball in the basket. There will be better days ahead.
What’s Next
The Hornets have leapfrogged the Bulls, and the Hawks are next in their sights. Conveniently enough, the Hawks are the next team on the schedule. The Hornets will play them in Atlanta on Saturday. If this was soccer, we’d call it a six pointer.