LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller combined for 51 points as the Charlotte Hornets handled the tanking Memphis Grizzlies, 124-101.
The Summary
The Hornets hit the Grizzlies with a flurry of threes to start the game, and it looked like they were going to outclass the Grizzlies from the start. They built a double digit lead pretty quickly, but they went cold for a while through the middle of the quarter and let the visitors score 10 straight point, including a three from Taj Gibson of all people. The second quarter followed much of the same blueprint. The Hornets hit a few threes and pulled ahead, then the upstart Grizzlies were able to answer and keep the game close. But this time, Charles Lee’s group was able to land another haymaker. Brandon Miller hit his second circus shot three of the game, added another three, then, after a couple of Hornets blocks on the defensive end, flew in for a dunk to put the Hornets up 16. The lead was 12 at the half.
LaMelo Ball started the second half the same way he started the first. He splashed a couple of threes and tossed in a floater before a couple of and-1s from Miles Bridges and Kon Knueppel put the home team up 20. Any attempt by the Grizzlies to make a push was quickly snuffed out, and that lead was built up to 22 by the end of the third. The fourth quarter was pretty sloppy, but it was evenly played sloppiness. With how much cushion the Hornets had built, there was never any doubt who was going to win the game.
The Good
The Hornets have almost gotten to a point where it’s hard to point out anything that’s a noteworthy positive in a game in which they blow out a tanking team. That in and of itself is a positive I guess. The team has played so well for an extended period of time that now a blowout win over a bad team feels like another ho-hum day at the office.
Brandon Miller and LaMelo Ball both chipped in effortless looking 20+ point performances. LaMelo had hot starts to both halves, while Miller primarily did his damage in the first half. Both hit a couple of circus shots from deep to show off the talent. Otherwise they didn’t have a whole lot of work to do against a pretty porous Grizzlies defense. They did what they were supposed to do against an overmatched team.
Moussa Diabate had a match-up that was ripe for the pickings, and picking he did. His stat line looks somewhat commonplace for Diabate, but it probably understates his impact. He drew a number of fouls while fighting for rebounds on top of the six offensive boards he did track down. The Grizzlies have been a bad rebounding team for a lot of the season, and Moussa took advantage.
Miles Bridges did not attempt a three. Not that I want him to stop taking threes entirely, but he’s taken too many for the percentage he shoots. He didn’t settle against a bad Memphis team. He took all eight of his field goal attempts from inside the arc and made six of them. He was a bully underneath the basket, at one point backing DeJon Jarreau down from basically the 3-point line and burying him under the rim. I’d like to see that version of Bridges a little bit more.
The Bad
Josh Green had a rough 30 second spell in the second quarter. He got called for a foul while getting knocked down by a screen. He stole the ensuing inbounds pass but got hung on the fast break dunk.
It was an uncharacteristically bad shooting day for Kon Knueppel. He got a bunch of threes up early and only made one. He even missed half of his free throw attempts that counted. But credit to Kon for changing his approach and getting downhill more when he saw the threes weren’t working for him.
What’s Next
The Hornets get a couple of days off before the Kings come to town on Tuesday. That should be another win as the Hornets make one last push for the playoffs.