107
113(2OT)
Last night was a tale of who would come away victorious. In the first half, the Grizzlies dominated the game, then in the second half the Charlotte Hornets would battle back to lead it for a while, and later forced it into overtime, where they had a chance to win it, but Memphis would storm back and come away victorious with a 113-107 win in double-overtime on their home floor of FedExForum, ending the Hornets brief 2-game win streak(6-16), while Memphis goes to 18-4.
Back in the first game, Memphis was led in scoring by Marc Gasol, but this time around, Zach Randolph would carry the load for Memphis, leading the way with 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field to go with 11 rebounds on the night. Joining him in the double-overtime win were Mike Conley Jr. and Marc Gasol, who each had 19 points, and Courtney Lee jumped into the act with 13 points. Memphis would end up shooting 45.9% from the field on the night, 46.2% from three-point territory and 76.3% from the free-throw line, out-shooting Charlotte in all three categories.
Despite Memphis winning the way game-wise, Kemba Walker would win the battle, leading all scorers for with 28 points on 11-of-21 shooting on the night for the Hornets in the loss. Not to be outdone was Gary Neal, who came off the bench to add in 25, while Al Jefferson would only finish the night with 16 points and just 9 rebounds. Gerald Henderson would have just 10 points to round out the group of double-figure scorers for Charlotte in last night's loss, but the Hornets won the battle on the rebounding side with a +2 margin(49-47).
It's going to be a quick turnaround for the Charlotte Hornets tonight, as they take on the Brooklyn Nets inside "The Hive" for a 7:00 p.m. start, before heading to Cleveland to face LeBron and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday night.
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.
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.
Preseason Game #3: Orlando Magic(2-0) vs. Charlotte Hornets(1-1)
Time Warner Cable Arena
Monday, 7:00 p.m.
Radio: WFNZ-AM(610 The Fan)
The preseason schedule for the Charlotte Hornets will resume on Monday night, when they play their first home preseason game as the Hornets in 13 years, as they welcome in the Orlando Magic to "The Hive". Charlotte got its first win of the preseason back on Friday night in Greenville, South Carolina, as they defeated Washington 99-86, while Orlando is 2-0 in the preseason, with wins coming against Indiana and Miami.
Scouting the Magic
Orlando is currently 2-0 in the preseason so far, with both wins coming against the Indiana Pacers and the Miami Heat. Last season was a down year for Orlando, but things could be looking up for Jacque Vaughn's squad as he enters his second year in Orlando as their head coach. Their roster has some new faces, including Channing Frye, and former Charlotte players Luke Ridnour and Ben Gordon. Could this be the year that Orlando makes a lot of noise in the Southeast Division? The answer could take the entire year to solve, but we'll see most of the new faces of the new-look Magic tomorrow night, as they make the trek to Charlotte to take on the Hornets.
Scouting the Hornets
The Charlotte Hornets enter Monday's game with a 1-1 mark, after a resounding 99-86 win over the Washington Wizards back on Friday night at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina behind Gary Neal's 19 point performance as he was inserted in the lineup for Charlotte, and carried the load in that performance along with Jannero Pargo, P.J. Hairston, and Kemba Walker.
The last time the Hornets played a preseason game in Charlotte took place on October 16, 2001 at the Charlotte Coliseum, when they defeated the Boston Celtics by a 99-88 margin. 4,745 days later, the Hornets will officially make their preseason home debut in Charlotte as they welcome in the Orlando Magic to town, as fans will get their first look at the team's new uniforms and new floor,as well as their first glimpses at P.J. Hairston and Lance Stephenson in action tomorrow night at "The Hive".
Upcoming Hornets preseason game schedule(Home games in Purple, Road games in Teal)
Wednesday: Detroit Pistons vs. Charlotte(11:00 a.m.)%
Friday: Charlotte @ Washington Wizards(7:00 p.m.)
Next Sunday: Charlotte @ Chicago Bulls(7:00 p.m.)
October 20th: Charlotte @ Atlanta Hawks(7:30 p.m.)
%-Denotes Cool School Field Trip game for middle school students
NOTE: All Hornets preseason games(with the exception of the 10/15 game) can be heard locally on flagship station WFNZ-AM(610 The Fan) and throughout the Carolinas on the Hornets Radio Network.
86
99
The Charlotte Hornets were entering tonight's "Home" match-up at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina, coming off a tough outing on Wednesday in Philadelphia, where they lost to the 76ers by a 106-92 margin, looking for a spark to ignite in their second preseason game of the year, and for the second game in a row, Gary Neal would deliver another strong performance off the bench for Charlotte, as the Hornets got into the preseason win column with a 99-86 win over the Washington Wizards this evening in Greenville.
Charlotte would lead early, and never gave up the lead after starting out with a 12-2 lead in the first four minutes of the contest, and they had a large lead of 23, which was a good spot to see for the Hornets, who are 1-1 on the preseason slate.
Neal would finish the night with 19 points as he was rewarded with a start in the Hornets lineup for Steve Clifford's squad tonight, and his supporting cast did got in on the act as well, including Jannero Pargo, who added 15 points off the bench in his 17 minutes of action, and not to be outdone for the victorious Hornets were P.J. Hairston and Kemba Walker, who each had 13 points, and Al Jefferson picked up where he left off last season, with a double-double, 12 points and 10 rebounds. Charlotte shot 42.7% from the field, and their three-point percentage came to 46.4%.
Leading the way for the Washington Wizards in the loss was Xavier Silas, who scored 14 off the bench. The Hornets next game on the preseason side of the schedule will come on Monday night at "The Hive", Time Warner Cable Arena, where they'll take on the Orlando Magic at 7:00 p.m.
NOTES: Lance Stephenson was not in the lineup for Charlotte for tonight's game in Greenville...The game marked the Hornets first game in Greenville since 2000, and they also played a preseason game there in 1999, when it was known as the BI-LO Center.
92
106
Last night was somewhat a tale of two halves for the Charlotte Hornets and Philadelphia 76ers in their preseason match-up at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, the first half was somewhat a good half all-around for the Hornets, but when the second half came, the 76ers jumped out to a good lead that they put together at the half and they never looked back, as Philadelphia(1-1) held on to defeat Charlotte(0-1) 106-92.
The loss did provide some bright spots from Charlotte, as Lance Stephenson made his much-anticipated debut in a Hornets uniform, as he finished the night with 13 points on 4-of-10 shooting from the field in the loss along with Kemba Walker, who had 13 points as well on 5-of-12 shooting, but the leading scorer on the night for the Hornets was Gary Neal, who came off the bench to lead the team with 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting. As a team, the Hornets, in their first preseason game in 12 years, finished the night with a 36.8% average from the field, despite being out-rebounded by the 76ers 53-50.
Over on the Philadelphia side of last night's scoresheet, newcomer Tony Wroten would lead the 76ers in scoring with 15 points(6-of-10 shooting), while another newcomer, Casper Ware, came off the bench to add in 14 points, as Philadelphia finished the game with a 42.2% field goal percentage on the night to get their first preseason win on their schedule.
Tomorrow night, the Hornets will take on John Wall, Bradley Beal, and the up and coming Washington Wizards in Greenville, South Carolina at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena at 7:00 p.m., before taking the weekend off to prepare for Monday's game against the Orlando Magic at Time Warner Cable Arena.
