An explosive third quarter helped the Charlotte Hornets cruise past the Chicago Bulls for a franchise record eighth straight road win.
The summary
The Hornets fired up a whole bunch of threes to start the game, and they didn’t have a whole lot of success at first. That was followed by a rash of turnovers that let the Bulls take a brief early lead. Coby White pulled up for a step back jumper and knocked it down on his first touch as a Hornet. The teams were tied after one quarter and continued to play even basketball through the second quarter. Collin Sexton powered a run that briefly gave the Bulls a nice lead, but the Hornets almost immediately canceled it out with their own run. The half ended with the Hornets nursing a one point lead.
LaMelo Ball badly missed a three on the first Hornets’ possession of the second half. The Hornets would go on to seemingly not miss a shot for the rest of the game. They tightened the clamps on the defensive side at the same time and started building an insurmountable lead. Kon Knueppel scored seven straight to accelerate that, then Brandon Miller added even more fuel to the fire. Throughout the run, the Hornets deflected probably about a dozen passes and shots to get out in transition and get easy buckets. It was a 32-6 run at its peak, which gave the Hornets a comfortable 27 point lead heading into the fourth. The Hornets added a few more points to that lead with a couple of corner threes from Josh Green, and then he added a little step back middy. The game was over at that point.
The Good
The 3-pointers and nifty layup get all the attention, but the Hornets won this game with their defense in the third quarter. The explosive scoring came as a direct result of all the steals, blocks, and air balls the Hornets forced that got them out and running in transition. The last two games have been reminiscent of those old Warriors teams that would frequently annihilate teams in the third quarter.
Kon Knueppel scored an easy 21 points and knocked down three more 3-pointers. That gives him 201 for the season. He broke Duncan Robinson’s record for fewest games to make 200 3-pointers by a whopping 11 games. We’re now on rookie record watch. He needs just six more to break Keegan Murray’s record. On top of all that, he leads the entire NBA in 3-pointers made, leading Donovan Mitchell by 10.
We got to see the debut of Coby White, and he immediately showed what he brings to the table. He had a couple of turnovers and misses, but that’s expected with him coming off an injury. He plays fast and can put the ball in the cup. It was a pretty solid first day at the office.
I love me some Josh Green offensive rebound water polo passes. We got another good one tonight that extended a possession that ended in Green making a three. It was another stellar game off the bench for the Aussie.
All of the Hornets starters played mostly well save for some Miller turnovers (more below). There’s not a whole lot to say other than they did what they do, and that’s been more than good enough to win games. It was very nice having Miles Bridges and Moussa Diabate back in the fold to give the Hornets their depth back and give the starting group their pop.
The Bad
I feel really bad for Collin Sexton. He seems like a real good dude and it was a fun half season with him in Charlotte. It was kind of tough to watch his new team get thoroughly beat down by the team that traded him away. He deserves better, so hopefully he ends up in a good spot this summer when he becomes a free agent.
Brandon Miller had six turnovers, and most of them came in the first half. He had a few moments of indecisiveness and keeps getting called for pushing off away from the ball. I’d like to see him be a little more decisive on offense. There have been some times lately where he’s maybe trying a bit too hard to assert himself and dribbles himself into trouble when he could afford to let the game come to him a little more.
What’s Next
The Hornets’ tour through the basement of the Eastern Conference continues with a trip to Indiana to take on the Pacers on Thursday. They’re 0-2 against the Pacers this season, so they’ll need to lock in.