91
101
With the final few weeks of the regular season rapidly approaching, the time for the Charlotte Hornets to make a major statement in the battle for the 8th spot in the Eastern Conference playoff race is now, and last night, before a sellout crowd of 19,183 at Time Warner Cable Arena, Charlotte battled back twice and would eventually pull away from the Chicago Bulls, as they ended their short losing streak and got back on the winning track with a 101-91 win, as the Hornets improve to 29-35 on the season, and move back into sole possession of 8th place in the Eastern Conference standings.
It was indeed a solid, but yet, terrific win, according to Hornets head coach Steve Clifford. "Do we need everybody to bring it every night? Yes we do, and for 18 games, we can do that." Clifford said on what his team must do in the next 18 games to clinch back-to-back playoff appearances for the first time in the modern era of Charlotte NBA Basketball(2004-present).
"We just try harder." said Gerald Henderson, who led the way with 20 points in the win for the Hornets, as he was one of 7 players that reached double figures for Charlotte in the win. Joining him were Mo Williams, who has continuously been playing strong basketball since he was acquired by the Hornets two weeks ago, and he finished with 18 points on the night. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had a good game in the win, ending it with 13 points, while Marvin Williams added in 12 in the effort, with Bismack Biyombo, Kemba Walker, and Jason Maxiell all adding in 10 points each, with Biyombo adding in 10 rebounds in his start in the place of Al Jefferson.
Chicago was led in scoring by Aaron Brooks, who had a game-high 24 points in the loss for the Bulls, while Pau Gasol added in 18 points. The Hornets will hit the road for a tough 5-game road trip, which gets started on Monday night in Salt Lake City, as they square off against the Utah Jazz at EnergySolutions Arena for a 9:00 p.m. start.
Updated Eastern Conference Standings
1. Atlanta Hawks: 51-14^
2. Cleveland Cavaliers: 42-25
3. Toronto Raptors: 39-26
4. Chicago Bulls: 40-27
5. Washington Wizards: 37-28
6. Milwaukee Bucks: 34-31
7. Indiana Pacers: 30-34
8. CHARLOTTE HORNETS: 29-35
---------------------------------------------------------------------
9. Miami Heat: 29-36
10. Boston Celtics: 28-36
11. Brooklyn Nets: 25-38
No comments:
Post a Comment