Hornets Extra: Hornets 115, Nets 91

115

91

As we head towards the final two months of the 2014-15 NBA season, it is time for many teams to come up with some key "Statement" wins if they want to improve their chances of making it to the NBA Playoffs, and for the Charlotte Hornets, last night's game was indeed a "Statement" win on the road, coming away with a 115-91 triumph over the Brooklyn Nets at the Barclays Center for their third straight win, while improving their mark on the season to 26-33, while moving into sole possession of 8th place in the Eastern Conference standings.

"I felt like the team wanted it more was going to win the game. It's just, the teams are so matched and I felt like for the most part we came out and punched them in the mouth early." said Mo Williams, who finished up with 14 points on 14 assists on the night in the win for Charlotte, which included 9 assists in the first quarter, which was two shy of the mark for assists in a quarter in Charlotte NBA history(Michael Holton had 11 assists in a quarter on 12/1/89), and he also got some help, lots of it from his fellow Hornets teammates, including Al Jefferson and Gerald Henderson, who co-led the Hornets with 19 points, while Marvin Williams added in 18, not to mention Cody Zeller adding in 13 off the bench.

On the night, Charlotte would finish the game shooting 49.4% from the field overall, and the even out-rebounded Brooklyn by a plus-11 margin(49-38).

The Nets were led in the loss by Deron Williams, who had 11 points.  The Hornets are off today, and they'll jump back into action tomorrow night at "The Hive" as they welcome in the Toronto Raptors to Time Warner Cable Arena for a 7:00 p.m. start.

Hornets Extra: Hornets @ Thunder

Charlotte Hornets(10-19) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder(13-16)

Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City

Friday, 8:00 p.m.

Television: SportSouth

Radio: WFNZ-AM(610 The Fan)

Series history(since original Hornets first season in 1988-89): SEA/OKC franchise leads series 32-15 all-time

After their 2-day Christmas break, the Charlotte Hornets will venture out to Oklahoma City in search of their 5th straight win against the always tough Oklahoma City Thunder.  The Hornets are coming off a 108-101 win over the Bucks on Tuesday night in Milwaukee, while the Thunder is licking their wounds after dropping a 115-111 decision to the Portland Trail Blazers, and they'll be in action on Christmas Day tomorrow, when they square off against the defending NBA champion Spurs in San Antonio.  The Charlotte franchise in the modern era(since 2004-05) hasn't won a game in Oklahoma City since the then-Seattle SuperSonics relocated to Oklahoma City back in the 2008-09 season, but the Hornets look to end the long streak on Friday night.

Scouting the Hornets

The Charlotte Hornets are enjoying their recent string of wins, 4 of them to be exact, as they defeated the Bucks last night in Milwaukee, while Kemba Walker has been carrying a good bulk of the load in those wins, along with Al Jefferson as well.  Last night's game marked the fifth time that the Hornets franchise has scored 100 points in a game since April 8-16 of 2008, when the then-Bobcats accomplished that feat.  The Charlotte franchise hasn't won a game in Oklahoma City in the modern era(2004-present), but the Hornets look to reverse that trend and finally earn themselves their first win in OKC on Friday night, as they take on the Thunder.

Scouting the Thunder

Last night was a crazy night for the Thunder on the home floor of Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, as they entertained the Portland Trail Blazers, and the end result of that game wasn't the way head coach Scott Brooks and his squad wanted to see, as Portland came away with a 115-111 win in overtime, despite Russell Westbrook dropping 40 points in the loss for the Thunder, who are still without one of their other star players, Kevin Durant. Oklahoma City will be in action on Christmas Day tomorrow, as they visit San Antonio to begin a back-to-back set against the defending champion Spurs, before they return home to OKC on Friday to face the Hornets.

Next 4 games for the Hornets(Home games in Purple, Road games in Teal)

Saturday: Orlando Magic vs. Charlotte*(7:00 p.m.)
Monday: Milwaukee Bucks vs. Charlotte(7:00 p.m.)
Next Wednesday: Charlotte @ Houston Rockets(7:00 p.m.)
Next Friday: Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Charlotte(7:00 p.m.)
*-Southeast Division game

NOTES: All SportSouth telecasts begin with "Hornets Live" 30 minutes before tip-off; All Hornets games can be heard locally on flagship station WFNZ-AM(610 The Fan) and throughout the Carolinas on the Hornets Radio Network.

Hornets Extra: Hornets @ Bucks

Charlotte Hornets(9-19) vs. Milwaukee Bucks(14-14)

BMO Harris Bradley Center, Milwaukee

Tuesday, 8:00 p.m.

Television: SportSouth

Radio: WFNZ-AM(610 The Fan)

Last meeting: Charlotte 108, Milwaukee 106(Overtime on October 29th in Charlotte)

Series history(since original Hornets first season in 1988-89): MIL leads series 48-47 all-time

The Charlotte Hornets are facing another back-to-back set of games, as they visit Milwaukee tonight looking for their 4th straight win as they take on the Bucks.  The last time these two teams met, was back on Opening Night in Charlotte, where Kemba Walker was clutch for the Hornets in their 108-106 win over Milwaukee in Overtime back on October 29th at Time Warner Cable Arena.  Charlotte won convincingly last night at home, defeating the Denver Nuggets 110-82 for their third straight win, while Milwaukee is coming off a 106-102 loss at the hands of the Los Angeles Clippers last Saturday.

Scouting the Hornets

The Charlotte Hornets come into tonight's game with a 3-game win streak under their belt, earning it in a 28-point blowout of the Denver Nuggets 110-82 last night at "The Hive" behind Al Jefferson's 22 point outing in the win for the Hornets, while Kemba Walker has been continuing his solid play over the last few games as well.  The two need to have another strong outing this evening for the Hornets, as they visit Milwaukee to battle the Bucks, who they defeated in overtime back on October 29th in Charlotte, as they look for their 4th straight win.

Scouting the Bucks

Milwaukee comes in sitting at the .500 mark(14-14), and entering tonight's game after a 106-102 close call at the hands of the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night.  Milwaukee has 2 star players to keep your eyes open for, and that's Brandon Knight and Giannis Antetokounmpo, these two have to carry the load for the Bucks now that Jabari Parker is done for the season, and they have been giving Milwaukee a solid chance to win night in and night out.  Look for either one of these two to have a good game tonight, as Milwaukee welcomes in the Charlotte Hornets to the BMO Harris Bradley Center.

Next 4 games for the Hornets(Home games in Purple, Road games in Teal)

Friday: Charlotte @ Oklahoma City Thunder(8:00 p.m.)
Saturday: Orlando Magic vs. Charlotte*(7:00 p.m.)
Monday: Milwaukee Bucks vs. Charlotte(7:00 p.m.)
Wednesday: Charlotte @ Houston Rockets(7:00 p.m.)
*-Southeast Division game

NOTES: All SportSouth telecasts begin with "Hornets Live" 30 minutes before tip-off; All Hornets games can be heard locally on flagship station WFNZ-AM(610 The Fan) and throughout the Carolinas on the Hornets Radio Network.

Hornets Extra: Hornets 110, Nuggets 82

82

110

As the old saying goes, "When you're hot, you're hot.", and for the Charlotte Hornets in their last three games, they've been playing extremely well and winning by almost 20 points.  Fast forward to last night, as the Hornets notched it's third straight win with a 28-point drubbing of the Denver Nuggets 110-82 at Time Warner Cable Arena.  Charlotte improved its record to 9-19 on the season with last night's win, while Denver fell to 12-16.

Much of what we saw in last night's win for the Hornets came from Al Jefferson, who would lead the team with 22 points on 10-of-13 shooting from the field, despite having just 7 rebounds on the night, while Kemba Walker had another strong performance again for the third straight game, as head coach Steve Clifford likes what he has seeing from Walker so far this season. "He's in the paint every pick-and-roll, and he can score." Clifford said. "But he's also kicking the ball out to his teammates."  Walker would finish the night with 18 points.  Gary Neal played a part in the win, scoring 13 points, while one of the biggest surprises on the night, P.J. Hairston, would not only score 10 points, but he also added in 10 rebounds, with Cody Zeller adding in 10 points of his own.

Charlotte would finish the night shooting 53.8% from the field and 42.1% from three-point range, while out-rebounding the Nuggets by a plus-7 margin(44-37).

And for the Nuggets in the loss, Ty Lawson led the way with 18 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field, while Alonzo Gee would score 15 points off the bench for the Nuggets.

Tonight in Milwaukee, the Hornets are out after their 4th straight win as they travel to Milwaukee to take on the Bucks at the BMO Harris Bradley Center for a 8:00 p.m. start, before taking a 2-day Christmas break.  Charlotte will return to action on Friday, as they square off against Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Chesapeake Energy Arena, before coming back home on Saturday night to face the Orlando Magic at "The Hive".

Hornets Extra: Hornets 104, Jazz 86

86

104

Playing a set of back-to-back games can take a toll on a NBA team during an 82-game schedule, but for the Charlotte Hornets, who entered last night's game after defeating the 76ers in Philadelphia on Friday, they wanted to carry the momentum from Friday's game into their game against the Utah Jazz at Time Warner Cable Arena, and boy did they ever keep their word true, as Charlotte cruised past Utah 104-86 for its second straight win, and improving to 8-19 on the season, thus ending a 10-game regular season losing skid vs. Utah as well.

For the Hornets, it was nothing more but a well-executed performance in their win, as they did not let up and didn't give up on each other, it was all about playing smart basketball, and it was all done possible by of course, Kemba Walker, who led the way with 20 points on just 8-of-17 shooting from the field, while Al Jefferson had himself a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds before leaving the game with a mild groin strain late in the game, but he did feel great to contribute to Charlotte's win last night.

"It feels good. If they needed me, I could've come back in there." Jefferson quoted.  Hornets head coach Steve Clifford liked what he saw out of Kemba in last night's game as well as their win on Friday in Philadelphia, too. "I'm not saying he's at an entirely different level, but his defense, organizational skills as a point guard and his pick and roll game this year is all better." Clifford said of Walker.

Charlotte also saw 2 other players reach double-figures, with Gerald Henderson adding in 17 points, while Michael Kidd-Gilchrist got himself a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.  As a team, the Hornets finished up the night shooting 48.3% from the field, while out-shooting them from three-point range with 40.9% and winning the rebound battle by a +10 margin(49-39).

Utah saw 6 players reach double-figures in their portion of the final box score, with Gordon Hayward, who was one of the targets Charlotte had on their radar before choosing to stay with Utah, leading the way with 14 points on the night, while Derrick Favors and Joe Ingles each adding 13 points each.  Rudy Gobert and Alec Burks each had 11 on the night, with Trey Burke rounding out the list with 10 points.

Tomorrow night at "The Hive", the Hornets will be out for their third win in a row, as they welcome in Ty Lawson and the Denver Nuggets for a 7:00 p.m. start, before hitting the road on Tuesday night to square off against the Milwaukee Bucks at 8:00 p.m. inside the BMO Harris Bradley Center.

Hornets Extra: Hornets 109, 76ers 91

109

91

The Charlotte Hornets wanted to switch things up a notch in last night's match-up against the Philadelphia 76ers, and the adjustments the team made would pay off well, as they built a 20 point lead(24 at one point) for most of the game before finishing the deal with a 18-point victory over the 76ers by a 109-91 margin at the Wells Fargo Center to snap their 4-game losing skid.

The Hornets knew they needed this win badly, as Brett Brown, Philadelphia's head coach mentioned it in his post-game comments. "They(Charlotte) sniffed blood, they knew they wanted to come in here and get a win." 

One key part to this win last night was of course, Kemba Walker dropping 30 points, a new season high in points for a Hornets player this season. "When he's going, he leads us and we follow him." said center Al Jefferson, who finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds. "We just needed to win, period." said Walker. "I'm glad we came in here and we executed. Hopefully we can carry that momentum into the future."

Two other players got into double-figures for the Hornets in last night's win, including Gerald Henderson, who got the start in the place of Lance Stephenson, finishing up with 11 points and Gary Neal would end up with 10 points off the bench for the victorious Hornets.

And in the losing effort for the 76ers, who are 0-14 at home this season, Robert Covington and Tony Wroten each had 19 points to co-lead Philadelphia.  The Hornets are back in action again tonight, as they take on the Utah Jazz at Time Warner Cable Arena for a 7:00 p.m. start.

Hornets Extra: Suns 111, Hornets 106

111

106

The Charlotte Bobcats have been struggling to close out games big time as always this season, and in Wednesday's game at Time Warner Cable Arena, the Hornets had the game in hand, but the Phoenix Suns would come all the way back to hand Charlotte their 4th straight loss 111-106.  The Hornets are now 6-19 on the season with the loss on Wednesday night.

In the comeback win for the Suns, they were led by Isaiah Thomas Jr., who had 23 points off the bench for Phoenix, while Goran Dragic made his return to the lineup and helped his team out in the cause with 20 points.  They were also joined by Gerald Green and his 16 point performance, with Eric Bledsoe adding in 15 on the night.  Not to be outdone for Phoenix, which snapped it's 6-game losing streak, were Markieff Morris with 13 and rounding out the long list of double-figure scorers for the Suns was Alex Len with 10 points.

The Hornets were led in Wednesday night's loss by Al Jefferson, who had 28 points to go with 10 rebounds.  Charlotte is on the road tonight in Philadelphia as they take on the 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center.

Hornets Extra: Hornets @ Grizzlies

Charlotte Hornets(6-15) vs. Memphis Grizzlies(17-4)

FedExForum, Memphis

Friday, 8:00 p.m.

Television: SportSouth

Radio: WFNZ-AM(610 The Fan)

Last meeting: Memphis 71, Charlotte 69(November 1st at Charlotte)

Series history(since 1995-96 season): CHA leads series 17-15

The Charlotte Hornets will look for their third straight win tonight, as they pay a visit to Memphis to take on the Grizzlies, who have the second-best record in the Western Conference this season with a 17-4 mark.  The last time the Hornets were in action was on Wednesday night, when they battled the Boston Celtics until the final buzzer, as Charlotte notched its second straight win with a 96-87 triumph over Boston.

Scouting the Hornets

On Wednesday night in Charlotte, the Hornets got their second win in a row thanks to a 96-87 defeat of the Boston Celtics behind Al Jefferson's game-high 23 point outing to go along with his 14 rebounds in the effort for Charlotte.  Tonight in Memphis, the Hornets will have their hands full as they look for some redemption against the one of the hottest teams in the Western Conference, the Memphis Grizzlies, after Memphis handed Charlotte it's first loss of the season back on November 1st at "The Hive", in the first half of a weekend back-to-back set starting tonight in Memphis, before Charlotte returns home tomorrow night to take on the Brooklyn Nets.

Scouting the Grizzlies

The Memphis Grizzlies come into tonight's game with the second-best record in the Western Conference with a record of just 17-4, as Zach Randolph and his team have been improving with each game they play this season.  The last time Memphis squared off against Charlotte was back on November 1st in Charlotte, when the Grizzlies would come away victorious thanks to Marc Gasol's go-ahead three-point play, to defeat the Hornets 71-69, and the Grizzlies are looking for the season sweep tonight, as they face off against Charlotte this time around inside FedExForum.

Next 4 games for the Hornets(Home games in Purple, Road games in Teal)

Saturday: Brooklyn Nets vs. Charlotte(7:00 p.m.)

Monday: Charlotte @ Cleveland Cavaliers(7:00 p.m.)

Wednesday: Phoenix Suns vs. Charlotte(7:00 p.m.)

Next Friday: Charlotte @ Philadelphia 76ers(7:00 p.m.)

NOTES: All SportSouth telecasts begin with "Hornets Live" 30 minutes before tip-off; All Hornets games can be heard locally on flagship station WFNZ-AM (610 The Fan) and throughout the Carolinas on the Hornets Radio Network.

Hornets Extra: Hornets 96, Celtics 87

87

96

If there was one thing that we learned from the 10-game losing streak, we learned that there is a tough mountain to climb, and for the Charlotte Hornets, they're starting to build themselves a winning streak, coming off a thrilling win last Friday night at home against the New York Knicks, and carrying that momentum into last night's game against the Boston Celtics at Time Warner Cable Arena.  The end result from this was that they did battle hard and stayed with it, and they were rewarded with a 96-87 win over Boston.  Charlotte improves their record to 6-15 on the season, while the Celtics fall to 7-13, despite the Celtics late run in the 4th, but the Hornets knew that they had some crucial stops along the way. 

"We just had to get some stops. We knew they(Boston) could get hot fast. We just had to step up our defense." said center Al Jefferson, who finished the night with 23 points to go with 14 rebounds.  Joining "Big Al" in the effort for the Hornets were two other double-figure scorers on the night for Charlotte, including Kemba Walker, who was 5-of-14 from the field to finish with 18 points on the night and Lance Stephenson had a solid outing for the Hornets, finishing up with 13 points.  Michael Kidd-Gilchrist returned to the lineup for the Hornets after missing the last few games, and he had 9 points on the night in the win for Charlotte.  As a team, Charlotte would end up shooting just 41.7% from the field.

And for Boston, Brad Stevens was pleased with the effort, but it didn't go the way it would be planned for the Celtics.  "We made a little bit of a run at the start of the fourth, but we couldn't get quite over the hump."

Rajon Rondo had a triple-double in the loss for Boston with 10 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists, while Jeff Green and Marcus Thornton co-led the Celtics with 16 points on the night, as the Celtics out-shot the Hornets from the field with a 43.7% field goal percentage, and winning the rebounding battle by a 45-44 margin.

The Hornets hope to make it three in a row tomorrow night in Memphis as they take on the Grizzlies at FedExForum for a 8:00 p.m. tip-off, and they'll be back at "The Hive" on Saturday night to square off against the Brooklyn Nets.

Hornets Extra: Heat 94, Hornets 93

93

94

Last night at AmericanAirlines Arena, the Charlotte Hornets placed themselves in prime position to win in a back-and-forth battle, but in the end, the Miami Heat would hang on to survive a frantic finish from the Hornets as they handed the Hornets their fifth straight loss with a 94-93 win.

The last few games have been somewhat of a story of some difficulty for Charlotte, losing big leads and not playing smart basketball as the team remains in last place in the Southeast Division with a 4-10 mark, and like the Carolina Panthers, both teams haven't been generating much excitement over the last few weeks, as either team hasn't gotten back in the win column.

Back to last night's game, Miami did went small and got the results they needed just like they did in Saturday's win in Orlando, with Luol Deng carrying the load with 26 points to lead the way for the Heat in the victory, while Chris Bosh and Mario Chalmers each had 20 points in the effort.

Charlotte was led in the loss by Al Jefferson, who had 22 points to go with 12 rebounds.  The Hornets are back at to begin a tough stretch of 3 home games in 5 days, which begins tonight at "The Hive" when they take on Blake Griffin, Chris Paul and the Los Angeles Clippers with tip-off scheduled after 7:00 p.m. at Time Warner Cable Arena.

Hornets Extra: Magic 105, Hornets 100

105

100

After building a 23-point lead through most of the game, the wheels would fall off for the Charlotte Hornets on Friday night, as the Orlando Magic would come from behind to defeat the 4-9 Hornets by a 105-100 margin at Time Warner Cable Arena.  With the loss, Charlotte has now lost 4 straight games.

Consider this one as a "Taking a page out of the Panthers notebook" game for the Hornets, they didn't close it out and gave the lead right back to Orlando, and the crowd of 18,126 wasn't pleased at all in the final quarter of play, as they saw their team slip up and mess up down the stretch, allowing the Magic to come back and get the win.

Evan Fournier led the way with 21 points for the Magic in the comeback win, while Charlotte was led in scoring by Al Jefferson and his 24 point performance.

Charlotte hopes to break this 4-game skid on Sunday night in Miami against the Heat for a 6:00 tip-off at AmericanAirlines Arena, before beginning a stretch of 3 home games in 5 days on Monday night with a visit from Blake Griffin, Chris Paul, and the L.A. Clippers for a 7:00 p.m. tip-off at "The Hive".

Hornets Extra: Pacers 88, Hornets 86

86

88

The Charlotte Hornets dropped their third straight game last night in Indianapolis, as the Pacers would spoil Lance Stephenson's homecoming to Bankers Life Fieldhouse with a buzzer-beater from Solomon Hill to give Indiana a 88-86 win over Charlotte.  The loss now drops Charlotte to 4-8 on the year, while Indiana improves its mark to 5-7.

Individually, the Pacers were led in scoring by Roy Hibbert, who had 18 point on just 7-of-14 shooting from the field to go with his 11 rebounds, while Luis Scola joined in on the act to finish things up with 15 points and Donald Sloan, along with Rodney Stuckey, each had 11 to round out the group of double-figure scorers for Indiana, who shot 44.9% from the field on the final statsheet, while out-rebounding the Hornets by a 51-41 margin, as the Pacers were without Paul George for last night's game, but still managed to pull out the win.

Over on the Hornets side of the statsheet, Al Jefferson got back into the double-digits column, after his streak was snapped on Monday night at home against Dallas, finishing with a game-high 28 points to lead not only Charlotte, but all game scorers, to go with 8 rebounds.  He was joined by Kemba Walker with 12, and Lance Stephenson rounded out the trio of double-figure scorers with 10 points on his return to Indy, as Charlotte would shoot an even 43% from the field in the loss.

Next up for the Hornets, a match-up with the Orlando Magic on Friday night at 7:00 p.m., as the Hornets will have their first of many "Classic Nights" at Time Warner Cable Arena to honor some of the memorable moments from the original Hornets era.

Hornets Extra: Warriors 112, Hornets 87

87

112

The Charlotte Hornets finished off their West Coast road trip on a disappointing note last night at Oracle Arena, as the Golden State Warriors demolished the Hornets by a 112-87 margin.  The Hornets record on the season is now at 4-6 on the year, as Charlotte finished the road trip with a 1-3 mark, while Golden State improved to 7-2.

Leading the way for the Warriors in the win was Klay Thompson, who scored 21 points in his 27 minutes of action on 7-of-13 shooting, while Warriors co-captain Stephen Curry joined him with 19 points on 8-of-15 shooting.  Not to be outdone for Golden State was Harrison Barnes with 17 points and Andrew Bogut, along with Marreese Speights added 13 points each.

Charlotte was led in the loss by Al Jefferson and his 19 points.  The Hornets are finally back home tomorrow night as they take on Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks for a 7:00 p.m. start at Time Warner Cable Arena.

Hornets Extra: Trail Blazers 102, Hornets 100

100

102

For the first three quarters of last night's game in Portland at the Moda Center, the Charlotte Hornets had all things going their way, but with less than 5:00 left in the game, the Portland Trail Blazers would storm their way back with a frantic comeback, and with less than 3 tenths of a second left, Gary Neal thought he had the shot that would send the game in overtime, but the referees decided it was no good, as Portland handed Charlotte(3-5) it's second straight loss by a 102-100 margin.

Neal thought he had the shot, but he was disappointed that it was after the buzzer went off. "When I made the basket, I thought it was good." Neal said. "It was a bang-bang play, so it was hard to say I thought it was out of my hand but they said it wasn't."

Leading the way for Portland in their comeback victory was their captain, Damian Lillard, who was 12-of-21 from the field to finish with 29 points to lead the Blazers.  He was joined by Lamarcus Aldridge, who added in 25 points, with 14 rebounds to his credit.  Wesley Matthews finished the night with 16 points and Chris Kaman came off the bench to add in 12.  As a team, the Blazers shot an even 43% from the field, despite the Hornets out-shooting them with 46.3% for the game.

Over on the Hornets side of the final statsheet, they were led in scoring by Al Jefferson and his 22 point outing to lead Charlotte in the loss, while Kemba Walker was 6-of-16 from the field to finish up with 16 points.  Lance Stephenson had another strong outing with 14 points and 14 rebounds, while Brian Roberts and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist each had 12 points each.

The Hornets look to get back on the right track on Friday night as they pay a visit to Phoenix to take on the Suns at 9:00 p.m., before wrapping up their West Coast road trip on Saturday night in Oakland against the Golden State Warriors at 10:30 p.m.   The next time the Hornets are back home at Time Warner Cable Arena will come on Monday night as they take on Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks for a 7:00 p.m. tip-off.

Hornets Extra: L.A. Lakers 107, Hornets 92

92

107

In the 1996 NBA Draft, the Charlotte Hornets selected Kobe Bryant with the 13th pick, but Bryant decided not to play with Charlotte, and demanded a trade to the Lakers, and in last night's match-up at the Staples Center, Bryant decided to unleash his anger at his once-former employer that drafted him in the 1996 Draft, as he and the Lakers came all the way back to defeat Charlotte for its first win of the year 107-92, as the Hornets fall to 3-4 on the season and 0-1 on their West Coast trip.

It was a tale of two halves for Charlotte, in the first, they came out firing, but in the second half, their defense fell to the wayside, as the Lakers mounted a comeback to get the win, and the defensive struggle in the second half was something Steve Clifford addressed in his post-game comments. "We stopped playing defense in the second half, and you could see our language starting to fade when we started missing shots and not playing defense." Clifford said.

Bryant, and new addition Jeremy Lin both scored 21 points each to lead Los Angeles, giving the fans something to cheer about after 5 straight losses to begin the season. "We got to start somewhere." quoted Bryant.  They were also joined by Carlos Boozer, who had 16 points, with Jordan Hill adding in 11 and Ed Davis came off the bench with 10 points to round out the group of double-figure scorers for the Lakers in the win.  Los Angeles finished the night shooting 51.2% from the field, better than the 44.3% field goal percentage put up by the Hornets.  Charlotte was led by Al Jefferson and his game-high 23 points in the loss, with Kemba Walker adding in 17.  Lance Stephenson was the leading rebounder for the Hornets with 10 rebounds on the night.

The Hornets look to bounce back from last night's loss as they pay a visit to Portland on Tuesday to face Damian Lillard and the always tough Portland Trail Blazers for a 10:00 start at the Moda Center.

Hornets Extra: Hornets 122, Hawks 119(2OT)

119

122(2OT)

When the Charlotte Hornets announced their intentions to bring in Lance Stephenson, they wanted him to do one thing: Step it up when it matters, and last night, Lance was indeed "Born Ready" to end the game in a big way to send the 15,891 in attendance at "The Hive", with most of them staying until the end, home happy as his game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer gave the Hornets a dramatic, but yet thrilling 122-119 win over the Atlanta Hawks, as Charlotte returns to the .500 mark(3-3), while the Hawks fall to 1-3.

"For me to hit that big shot, there was a lot of emotion that came out. I haven't made a shot all season long, but hopefully that will give me more confidence to keep hitting more shots." said Stephenson, who finished the night with 17 points and 13 rebounds to notch his first double-double in a Hornets uniform.  Al Jefferson, who led the team with a game-high 34 points, was relieved to see Stephenson hit that game-winner in a huge situation last night to give the Hornets the win, instead of sending it to a third overtime. "Lance is a tough as nails." Jefferson said, "You see when he got the ball what he did with it."  

Charlotte finished last night's game shooting 49.5% from the field, with much of it coming from both, Jefferson and Stephenson, but they did see 4 players reach double figures in the win, including Gary Neal, who once again came off the bench to finish the night with 23 points, while Kemba Walker was 6-of-16 from the field to end his night with 15 points and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist returned to the lineup after missing the previous 2 games with a rib contusion, and he contributed 10 points to the effort for the Hornets in their win last night.

Over on the Hawks side in their loss, they were led in scoring by center Al Horford, who was 11-for-16 from the field to end up with 24 points to go with 10 rebounds, while Jeff Teague had a double-double on the night as well for Atlanta, with 22 points and 15 rebounds.  Atlanta also saw their three-point specialist, Kyle Korver, get into double figures with 20 points, while he was 4-for-7 from beyond the arc, with Paul Millsap and Demarre Carroll each with 13 and rounding out the double-figure scoring for the Hawks was Dennis Schroeder with 10 off the bench.

Now the Charlotte Hornets will embark on a long 4-game, 7-day road trip, which begins tomorrow night in Los Angeles as they take on Kobe Bryant and the L.A. Lakers for a 9:00 p.m. start at the Staples Center.

Hornets Extra: Hornets 96, Heat 89

89

96

If you want to beat the Miami Heat at their own game, you have to do just one thing: Beat the Heat minus LeBron James.  In it's previous 16 meetings, the then-Charlotte Bobcats were 0-for-16 during his stint with Miami, but fast forward to last night's match-up against the Heat before an announced crowd of 15,874 at Time Warner Cable Arena, as it was "Big Al" Jefferson that turned out to be the star of the show for the Charlotte Hornets as his 28 points and 10 rebounds helped Charlotte snap its 16-game regular season losing streak against Miami thanks to a 96-86 win, improving the Hornets to 2-3, while Miami drops to 3-2.

"It's good to get the monkey off our back." said Hornets guard Kemba Walker, who seen it happen in his previous 16 tries in a Charlotte uniform, and was very fortunate for the Hornets to defeat Miami.

Jefferson had a stiff battle in the paint last night, as Miami would send out Shawne Williams and Justin Hamilton to slow him down, but "Big Al" would out-power them time after time to get the upper hand for the Hornets. "I feel like Birdman(Chris Andersen) is a guy who gives me a challenge because he's a little taller, but all the guys out there today I felt like I had an advantage." quoted Jefferson.

Charlotte would finish the game shooting 42.7% from the field, as they also got some double-figure scoring from Kemba Walker and his 18 point performance while Cody Zeller saw some good minutes off the bench for the Hornets with 13 points, and despite only scoring 8 points, Lance Stephenson would be the leading rebounder for the Hornets with 13 on the night to contribute to the Hornets effort in the rebound department with a 49-36 margin.

Miami would get a good showing from Dwyane Wade as he led the Heat with 25 points, and despite the loss, Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra was encouraged with how Wade put in the effort last night. "I've been very encouraged by his commitment."  Chris Bosh was the other Heat player that reached double figures with 23 points to go with 13 rebounds.

Next up on the agenda for the Charlotte Hornets will be another Southeast Division matchup against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night at "The Hive", before the Hornets hit the road for their first West Coast trip of the year starting on Sunday night in Los Angeles against the Lakers.

Hornets Extra: Knicks 96, Hornets 93

93

96

The final few seconds of last night's match-up between the Charlotte Hornets and the New York Knicks turned out to be very interesting, as the turning point of the game was the 5-second rule in which Charlotte didn't inbound the ball to avoid the warning, and that would eventually open the door for the Knicks to maintain their lead and to escape out of Madison Square Garden with a 96-93 win to go to 2-1 on the year, while Charlotte drops to 1-2.

Of course, everyone knows that when you face the Knicks, you have to go through Carmelo Anthony, the man that was in the center of attention last season, when his 61-point performance burned the then-Bobcats at Madison Square Garden, and last night, he eclipsed the 20,000 point plateau, while leading the way for New York with a game-high 28 point outing, as first-year coach Derek Fisher was impressed with his team's effort last night. "Their effort in trying to do what we're asking them to do is very high. Even though we're making mistakes, we are making it hard for teams to score in certain situations." Fisher said.

New York would finish the night shooting an even 50% from the field, as Anthony was joined in the victorious effort by Amar'e Stoudemire off the bench, as he went 7-of-13 from the field to finish with 17 points to go along with his 10 rebounds, and Iman Shumpert rounded out the list of double-figure scorers for the Knicks with 15 points on the night.

As for the Hornets in the loss, they were led in scoring by "Big Al" Jefferson and his 21 point outing, while Gary Neal came off the bench to add in 17 points with Kemba Walker scoring 16 and Lance Stephenson finally got into double figures for the first time in a Hornets uniform with 14 points, as the Hornets teamwise, shot 47.1% from the field, while out-rebounding the Knicks by a 38-35 margin.

Next up for the Hornets, a match-up with Anthony Davis and the Pelicans on Tuesday night at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans for a 8:00 tip-off, before heading back home to take on Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and the Miami Heat at Time Warner Cable Arena at 7:00 p.m. this Wednesday.

Hornets Extra: Grizzlies 71, Hornets 69

71

69

Last night before an announced crowd of 18,133 at Time Warner Cable Arena, the Memphis Grizzlies and Charlotte Hornets fought hard down the stretch, but in the end, the Grizzlies would get the upper hand as Marc Gasol's go-ahead three-point play would give Memphis(3-0) a 71-69 win over the 1-1 Hornets on the night that Bobby Phills' number 13 jersey was re-hung high above the rafters of "The Hive".

In fact, Gasol would be the main source for Memphis's scoring in last night's win, as he led the way with a game-high 22 points on 9-of-18 shooting, while Zach Randolph would add in just 12 points on 6-of-12 shooting to go along with his 12 rebounds, as the Grizzlies would end up shooting 36.2% from the field, which was better than the 36.1% shot by Charlotte.

Leading the way for the Hornets in last night's loss was Al Jefferson, who in 37 minutes of action finished up with 19 points, while Michael Kidd-Gilchrist added in 11 and Gary Neal came off the bench for Charlotte to round out its group of double-figure scorers with 10 points.

Next up for Charlotte, a Sunday night affair with Carmelo Anthony and the New York Knicks tonight at Madison Square Garden, as the Hornets begin a brief 2-game road trip.

30 Teams in 30 Days: Charlotte Hornets

Our "30 Teams in 30 Days" series concludes today with a preview of the Charlotte Hornets, as they look to pick up where they left off from last season's 43-win year as the then-Bobcats, and are looking forward to reclaiming the Buzz as they officially bring back the Hornets moniker back home to the Carolinas after a long 12-year absence.

Last season's record: 43-39(3rd in Southeast Division and 7th in Eastern Conference; Lost to MIA 4-0 in Eastern Conference First Round)

Head Coach: Steve Clifford(2nd season, 43-39 overall)

Arena: Time Warner Cable Arena(19,077)

Website: Hornets.com

Entering the 2013-14 season, the then-Charlotte Bobcats were looking for a way to get back to the playoffs for the first time since 2010 after 3 straight losing seasons, and the only way that they did so was bringing in a defensive-minded coach in Steve Clifford and landing Al Jefferson. Charlotte would be one of the young teams on the rise last season, and many thought that the then-Bobcats would be a threat in the Eastern Conference.  We were all right, as Charlotte finished up the season with a 43-39 record, good enough to give them the 7th seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs, setting up a first-round showdown with the Miami Heat.

The first round was somewhat dominated by Miami, as the Heat not only swept Charlotte in 4 straight games, but it would signal the end of the "Bobcats" moniker in Charlotte as we know it after 10 seasons.

Emerging in it's waif...the return of one of the most iconic brands in all of sports, as the franchise officially evolved into the Charlotte Hornets, as they would give the fans what they wanted and officially "Bringing Back the Buzz" to Charlotte and the Carolinas after a long 12-year absence.

Besides the return of Purple and Teal and Hugo the Hornet, they made a big splash in Free Agency this past off-season, and landing in Lance Stephenson to help the team become a even more dangerous threat in the East and together with Al Jefferson and Kemba Walker, many of the so-called "Experts" out there could possibly pick Charlotte as the "Dark Horse" of the Eastern Conference, and some could have them winning their first division title in the franchise's 25 year history in Charlotte(since 1988).

If you were a fan of the original Hornets during their 14 year run, you've heard of all the great names that donned the iconic uniform such as Muggsy Bogues, Dell Curry, Larry Johnson, and Alonzo Mourning, and with the season approaching, the newly-reborn Charlotte Hornets hope to capture that same excitement and passion once again in "Buzz City", and they are ready to take that next big step in the storied history of Charlotte NBA Basketball.