94
98
When the game is on the line, who do you trust to take the final shot? Here in Charlotte, you look to Kemba Walker to deliver, and he did exactly that as his go-ahead three-point play gave the Charlotte Hornets a 98-94 win over the New Orleans Pelicans last night at Time Warner Cable Arena, lifting the Hornets to their third straight win. The win also improves the Hornets record on the year to 13-24, while the Pelicans fall to 17-18.
On the night, Walker reached 30 points again for the third straight game, winding up with 31 to lead the way for the Hornets in the win, while he was joined by Gerald Henderson, who continued his solid performances recently for Charlotte, scoring 16 points, with Michael Kidd-Glichrist notching a double-double, adding in 12 rebounds to go with his 13 points and Brian Roberts rounded out the group of double figure scorers for the Hornets with 10 off the bench.
And over on the Pelicans side, Anthony Davis led all game scorers with 32 points to go along with 12 in the loss for New Orleans. Next up for the Hornets, they're in Toronto tonight to take on Kyle Lowry and the Raptors inside the Air Canada Centre at 7:30 p.m., before they square off against the New York Knicks on Saturday afternoon for a 1:00 p.m. start inside Madison Square Garden.
New Orleans Pelicans(17-17) vs. Charlotte Hornets(12-24)
Time Warner Cable Arena
Wednesday, 7:00 p.m.
Television: SportSouth
Radio: WFNZ-AM(610 The Fan)
Last meeting: New Orleans 100, Charlotte 91(November 4th at New Orleans)
Series history(modern era since 2004-05 season): NOP leads series 15-6 all-time
After posting quality wins over Orlando and Boston, the Charlotte Hornets return to action this evening at Time Warner Cable Arena as they welcome in the 17-17 New Orleans Pelicans to town. The last time the two teams got together came back on November 4th in New Orleans, where the Pelicans held on for a 100-91 win over Charlotte on their home floor of the Smoothie King Center behind Anthony Davis's 24 point/13 rebound performance. The Hornets look to get even and look for a split of the season series in the second and final meeting of the teams tonight in Charlotte.
Scouting the Pelicans
It has been somewhat of a up and down rollercoaster ride for the New Orleans Pelicans so far this season, as they enter this evening's match-up at Charlotte with a 17-17 mark. Everyone knows that when you face the Pelicans, then you know you have to deal with Anthony Davis, a possible MVP candidate in the making for a New Orleans squad, and you have to also look out for Ryan Anderson, Eric Gordon, and the rest of a Pelicans team that is hoping to generate a lot of noise in the Western Conference, as they look for a possible season sweep of Charlotte tonight on the road.
Scouting the Hornets
After losing 5 straight games, the Charlotte Hornets have bounced back with 2 straight wins recently, with a win on Saturday in Orlando, and winning at Boston back on Monday night. The key component to the Hornets success so far has to be the play of Kemba Walker, who has posted 30+ points in his last 2 games, and he and the rest of the Hornets hope to carry the momentum from these past 2 wins into tonight's home game against the visiting New Orleans Pelicans at "The Hive", before Charlotte travels up North to Toronto tomorrow night to face the Raptors.
Next 4 games for the Hornets(Home games in Purple, Road games in Teal)
Thursday: Charlotte @ Toronto Raptors(7:30 p.m.)
Saturday: Charlotte @ New York Knicks(1:00 p.m.)
Next Wednesday: San Antonio Spurs vs. Charlotte(7:00 p.m.)
January 17th: Indiana Pacers vs. Charlotte(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.
100
91
Last night at the Smoothie King Center, the New Orleans Pelicans were out to get back on course against the Charlotte Hornets, and it was all Pelicans, all the time, as New Orleans for the most part dominated the night en route to a 100-91 win to even up their record on the year at 2-2, while the Hornets drop to 1-3.
The star of the night for the Pelicans, who used to be known as the New Orleans Hornets from 2002-13, before relinquishing the "Hornets" nickname back to Charlotte, was none other than Anthony Davis, and the fans gave him nothing but love when he heard the rings of the "MVP" chant all over the Smoothie King Center, as he would finish with a double-double(24 points, 13 rebounds) to lead New Orleans in the win. Joining him were three players who ended the night with 16 points each(Jrue Holiday, Ryan Anderson, and Tyreke Evans), and Pelicans head coach Monty Williams was very happy with Davis' effort to help New Orleans get the win. "I thought he wasn't getting the ball where he wanted to consistently, but then he started to knock down jump shots." Williams said.
The struggles were hard for the Hornets on the other hand, according to head coach Steve Clifford. "We didn't keep playing, keep competing for every posession, those things are on me." said Clifford.
Charlotte, who was without Michael Kidd-Gilchrist last night, was led in scoring by Gary Neal off the bench with 21 in the loss for the Hornets.
Tonight, the Hornets hope to put a stop to their brief 3-game losing skid as they take on Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and former Charlotte player Josh McRoberts as the Miami Heat invades "The Hive" for a 7:00 tip-off.
Charlotte Hornets(1-2) vs. New Orleans Pelicans(1-2)
Smoothie King Center, New Orleans
Tuesday, 8:00 p.m.
Television: SportSouth
Radio: WFNZ-AM(610 The Fan)
Series history(since Bobcats first season in 2004-05): NOP leads series 14-6
Tonight will be a battle of 1-2 teams as the Hornets pay a visit to New Orleans to take on the Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center. Charlotte is coming off a 96-93 loss at the hands of the Knicks back on Sunday in New York, while the Pelicans are coming off a hard-fought battle last night in Memphis against the Grizzlies, as Memphis defeated New Orleans 93-81.
Scouting the Hornets
The Charlotte Hornets are coming off a difficult, but yet close loss at the hands of the New York Knicks back on Sunday night in New York as the Knicks defeated Charlotte 96-93, despite Al Jefferson leading the way with 21 points, as Charlotte was without Michael Kidd-Gilchrist for the remainder of that game, but he could be a possible game-time decision for tonight's game in New Orleans against the Pelicans and this will be a good match-up between Anthony Davis and "Big Al", as these two centers will go head-to-head for their respective teams tonight in "The Crescent City", as the Hornets encounter another back-to-back set, first with the Pelicans tonight in New Orleans and against the Miami Heat back home tomorrow night at Time Warner Cable Arena.
Scouting the Pelicans
Last night in Memphis, the Pelicans fell to the 4-0 Memphis Grizzlies by a final margin of 93-81, with Tyreke Evans leading the way with 21 in the loss, while Anthony Davis only managed to score 14 points. It's a quick turnaround tonight for the Pelicans, as they return home to the Smoothie King Center for a match-up with the Charlotte Hornets, as New Orleans hopes to bounce back from last night's loss and to get back on the right track with hopefully a win under their belt.
Of course, the New Orleans franchise was known as the Hornets from 2002, when they moved from Charlotte to New Orleans through 2013, when owner Tom Benson decided to rebrand the franchise as the Pelicans, and relinquishing the moniker back to the expansion Charlotte franchise, which debuted as the Bobcats in the 2004-05 season. After the Bobcats were re-branded as the Hornets on May 20th, 2014, Charlotte reclaimed the statistical history, records, and information of Charlotte NBA Basketball, which followed with the team to New Orleans, from 1988-2002, while the Pelicans would retain all the history, records, and information of their history dating back to the 2002-03 season.
Next 4 games for the Hornets(Home games in Purple, Road games in Teal)
Wednesday: Miami Heat @ Charlotte*(7:00 p.m.)
Friday: Atlanta Hawks @ Charlotte*(7:00 p.m.)
Sunday: Charlotte @ L.A. Lakers(9:00 p.m.)
Next Tuesday: Charlotte @ Portland Trail Blazers(10:00 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.
In today's installment of our "30 Teams in 30 Days" series, we'll take a look at the New Orleans Pelicans, who struggled early and often this past season, but they do have someone that can build their team around them in Anthony Davis.
Last season's record: 34-48(5th in Southwest Division)
Head Coach: Monty Williams(6th season, 128-184 with NOP)
Arena: Smoothie King Center(17,003)
Website: Pelicans.com
The 2013-14 season was a down year for the New Orleans Pelicans, as they were missing some key components to the struggling team that finished with a 34-48 mark, including Ryan Anderson. When the season came to an end, many were wondering what will the future hold for New Orleans entering the 2014-15 campaign. One of those answers came in Anthony Davis, who had a stellar campaign last season, on the court, and he could potentially be the next big thing in the NBA when the season comes around.
Another interesting question was this: was Monty Williams's job in jeopardy? He did got a vote of confidence from General Manager Dell Demps, and the Benson family, the owners of the Pelicans hoping to turn things around in this upcoming season for New Orleans.
Now, in order to be successful again, just like they did in their previous years since arriving in 2002, they have to stay healthy, and get back to playing fundamental basketball, with of course, Anthony Davis at the helm, and even though the Pelicans are in a rebuilding phase, fans are hoping to see what's next for the New Orleans Pelicans in 2014-15.
Upcoming team previews in the "30 Teams in 30 Days" series"
- Friday: Houston Rockets
- Saturday: San Antonio Spurs
- Sunday: Dallas Mavericks
- Monday: Oklahoma City Thunder
