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
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9. Miami Heat: 29-36
10. Boston Celtics: 28-36
11. Brooklyn Nets: 25-38
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.
Charlotte Hornets(22-27) vs. Philadelphia 76ers(11-40)
Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia
Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
Television: SportSouth
Radio: WFNZ-AM(610 The Fan)
Last meeting: Charlotte 109, Philadelphia 91
Series history(since original Hornets first season in 1988-89): CHA leads series 52-39
The Charlotte Hornets hope to make it 4 straight wins tonight, as they pay a visit to Philadelphia to face the 76ers in a Eastern Conference match-up. Charlotte is coming off a win over the Washington Wizards back on Thursday night at "The Hive", behind Gerald Henderson's 27 point performance to lead the Hornets, while Philadelphia on the other hand suffered a 107-96 loss at the hands of the Celtics last night in Boston.
Scouting the Hornets
Over the last few games, the Charlotte Hornets have been playing good basketball with a 12-3 mark over a 15-game span. In Thursday's game at home against Washington, which saw Charlotte come back to win 94-87, the Hornets blocked a season high 15 shots, which was good for the second-best game total in blocks in the history of Charlotte NBA basketball(16 was the franchise record set back on November 25, 2009). Tonight in Philly, the Hornets are out for their fourth-straight win, as they battle the 76ers in the first of a back-to-back set, with Charlotte returning home on Sunday to face the Pacers.
Scouting the 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers are coming off a loss at the hands of the Celtics last night in Boston, but they have been playing well on the home floor of the Wells Fargo Center, winning three straight games recently, and they're hoping to aim for their fourth-straight home win as they welcome in the Charlotte Hornets to town tonight. Michael Carter-Williams is somewhat probable for Philadelphia, after missing last night's game with a right toe injury, as the 76ers are hoping for a major bounce back in tonight's game.
Next 2 games for the Hornets(Home games in Purple, Road games in Teal)
Sunday: Indiana Pacers vs. Charlotte(6:00 p.m.)
Tuesday: Detroit Pistons vs. Charlotte(7:00 p.m.)
All-Star Break(February 13th-20th)
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.
87
94
After a rough first half, which led to head coach Steve Clifford calling out his team, the Charlotte Hornets would come out firing and unleashing their frustrations from that first half, and turning it into paydirt, coming away with a 94-87 win over the Washington Wizards last night at Time Warner Cable Arena. The Hornets are now 22-27 on the season and holding on to the 7th seed in the Eastern Conference, while the Wizards dropped to 31-20.
The star of the night for Charlotte was Gerald Henderson, who would spark the Hornets run, which was a 14-4 run to end the game. "We weren't in our spots, we weren't helping each other, and we didn't have any energy." said Henderson, who finished with 27 points to lead the way for the Hornets in the win. "In the second half, we came out with more than that."
Last night's win marked the fifth straight time Charlotte has defeated Washington, and they also got a little bit of help from Jason Maxiell, who came out of nowhere with 7 blocked shots to go with 11 points off the bench for the Hornets. Also with 11 points each on the night for Charlotte were Lance Stephenson and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, while Brian Roberts continued to do well stepping in the place of Kemba Walker had 12 points for Charlotte in the win. The Hornets finished with a 43.4% field goal percentage on the night, while dominating the rebounding battle by a plus-13 margin(50-37).
Washington had a rough go of it, as head coach Randy Wittman wasn't pleased with his team's effort in the second half. "For whatever reason, we take it upon ourselves to say, 'This is a time for me.'" Wittman quoted. Paul Pierce led the way for the Wizards with 19 points, while John Wall would add in 15. The Hornets next game will come on Saturday night in Philadelphia, as they take on the 76ers at 7:30 p.m. inside the Wells Fargo Center, while their next home game will come on Sunday as they take on the Indiana Pacers for a 6:00 p.m. tip-off at "The Hive".
Charlotte Hornets(14-24) vs. New York Knicks(5-34)
Madison Square Garden, New York
Saturday, 1:00 p.m.
Television: SportSouth
Radio: WFNZ-AM(610 The Fan)
Last 2 meetings: Charlotte 103, New York 102(December 5th at Charlotte); New York 96, Charlotte 93(November 2nd at New York)
Series history(since original Hornets first season in 1988-89): NYK leads series 53-39 all-time
Today is another busy sports day here in Charlotte, as the Charlotte Hornets will make the trek to "The Big Apple" for a afternoon game against the slumping New York Knicks, before the Carolina Panthers square against the Seattle Seahawks later tonight in the NFC Divisional Playoff. The Hornets enter today's game on a 4-game winning streak, and the strong play of Gerald Henderson and Kemba Walker recently, while the Knicks are on a downward spiral, losing 14 straight games. Both teams split the first 2 meetings of the 4-game set, with the Knicks prevailing on November 2nd at The Garden, while the Hornets won in thrilling fashion back on December 5th at "The Hive" on Walker's game-winning layup.
Scouting the Hornets
If there's one person that is responsible for what the Hornets have done recently, it would have to be Kemba Walker, who recently had a string of three-straight 30-plus point games, which came to an end on Wednesday night in Toronto, finishing with 29 points in Charlotte's win over the Raptors, which saw Gerald Henderson lead the way with 31 points to give the Hornets their 4th straight win. Charlotte hopes to give their fans something to cheer about today as they look for their 5th straight win by making the trek to New York to face the slumping Knicks this afternoon, and who knows, they could rub some of that luck on the Carolina Panthers later tonight in Seattle, as they take on the Seahawks.
Scouting the Knicks
It has been a downward spiral for the New York Knicks, who are already missing it's star, Carmelo Anthony and have recently traded J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert to the Cleveland Cavaliers. On top of all that, they have lost 14 straight games, and fans have somewhat started to give up on the 2014-15 season for the Knicks and have began looking ahead to the 2015-16 season. New York hopes to avoid their 15th straight loss today, by welcoming in the red-hot Charlotte Hornets to Madison Square Garden.
Next 4 games for the Hornets(Home games in Purple, Road games in Teal)
Wednesday: San Antonio Spurs vs. Charlotte(7:00 p.m.)
Next Saturday: Indiana Pacers vs. Charlotte(7:00 p.m.)
January 19th: Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Charlotte(2:00 p.m.)
January 21st: Miami Heat 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.
103
95
With Al Jefferson, Lance Stephenson, and Cody Zeller not in last night's lineup, the Charlotte Hornets wanted to call on some reinforcements to stay the course after Wednesday night's win at home over the New Orleans Pelicans, and one of those major reinforcements was Gerald Henderson, who helped carry the load for the Hornets en route to its fourth straight win by defeating the Toronto Raptors 103-95 at the Air Canada Center. The Hornets are now 14-24 on the season, while Toronto dropped it's 4th straight and find themselves at 24-11 on the year.
Another key player that played a part in Charlotte's win last night was Kemba Walker, and that would deserve some praise from head coach Steve Clifford. "We're asking a lot of him. He's young, competitive, and likes to play big minutes." said Clifford of Walker, who was just one point shy of joining former Hornet Glen Rice as the only players in the history of Charlotte NBA Basketball(dating back to 1988-89) to have four-straight 30 point games(Rice accomplished the feat in the 1996-97 season). "I'm just taking the opportunities that the defense gives me." said Walker, who finished with 29 points on 12-of-25 shooting from the field. "When I see my opportunity, I'm just making the play."
Henderson led the way with 31 points on 13-of-20 shooting from the field for Charlotte, while Marvin Williams, who started in place of Cody Zeller, had a good outing with 13 points and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had 10 points to go with 12 rebounds for another double-double in the win for the Hornets.
And for the Raptors, it was Kyle Lowry that led the way with 24 in the loss for the Raptors. Charlotte will be in action tomorrow afternoon, as they look for their 5th straight win by taking on the New York Knicks for a 1:00 p.m. start at Madison Square Garden, before they come back home to "The Hive" on Wednesday night to face the defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs at 7:00.
83
102
The Charlotte Hornets didn't want to end 2014 on a low note, and that's what happened on Wednesday night in Houston, as they fell to the Houston Rockets 102-83.
Leading the way for the Houston Rockets in the win on Wednesday was James Harden, who led all scorers with 36 points on 12-of-19 shooting from the field, while Patrick Beverley had a strong game on the night for the Rockets, who improved to 22-9 on the year, adding in 14 points. Donatas Motiejunas played well off the bench for Kevin McHale's squad, finishing up with 12, Dwight Howard would end up with 11 points, and rounding out the group of double-figure scorers for the Rockets was Trevor Ariza with 10 points.
And for Charlotte in the loss, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Gerald Henderson each had 16 to co-lead the Hornets. Charlotte hopes to begin 2015 on a high note as they return home to Time Warner Cable Arena tonight to face the Cleveland Cavaliers, minus LeBron James for a 7:00 p.m. start.
102
103
It was a tale of two teams that were desperately looking for a win last night before a sellout crowd of 19,102 at Time Warner Cable Arena, as the New York Knicks and the Charlotte Hornets were needing a win badly to end their losing streak, but leave it all to Kemba Walker to deliver in the critical stages of the game, as his game-winning layup would end the 10-game losing streak for the Hornets, as they came away with a 103-102 win to go to 5-15 on the year, while handing New York it's 8th straight loss and dropping them to 4-17.
"We needed the win. It's been three weeks since we won." said Hornets head coach Steve Clifford.
Walker was quite relieved to be the person that would take the last shot of the game, and to get Charlotte on hopefully the right track after suffering a long 10-game losing skid. "Hopefully we can build off this."
Gerald Henderson got the start last night, and he would shine in the game for Charlotte, as he finished things up with 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field, while he was joined by Lance Stephenson and "Big Al" Jefferson, who each had 16 points, with Jefferson adding in 13 rebounds. Gary Neal was alright indeed as he did play, and finished things up with 13 on the night and rounding out the group of double-figure scorers for the Hornets was of course, the hero of the night, Kemba Walker with 11. Charlotte shot 47,7% from the field, and also dominated the rebounding game with a +7 margin(41-34).
New York was led in scoring by Carmelo Anthony, who was praising Kemba for the game-winner for Charlotte, despite his team being on the losing end of the scoreboard. "A loss is a loss and you never feel good about a loss. I don't think you can ask for more than that." Anthony said. "Kemba made a great play at the end and I tip my hat off to him." J.R. Smith chipped in 14 points off the bench for the Knicks and rounding out the trio of double-figure scorers was Tim Hardaway Jr. with 13 points.
The Hornets hope to get a winning streak going as they take on Rajon Rondo and the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. at Time Warner Cable Arena.
Preseason Game #1: Charlotte Hornets(0-0) at Philadelphia 76ers(0-1)
Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia
Wednesday, 7:00 p.m.
Radio: WFNZ-AM(610 The Fan)
The Charlotte Hornets will unofficially make their return to the NBA for the first time in 12 years tomorrow night in Philadelphia, as they take on a young 76ers team that is looking to make a lot of noise in the Eastern Conference, while the Hornets come into tomorrow's preseason opener hoping to pick up where they left off last season, when the then-Charlotte Bobcats won 43 games and earning their second-ever trip to the NBA Playoffs, before being swept in 4 straight games in the first round by the Miami Heat.
Scouting the Hornets
For the first time in 12 years, the Charlotte Hornets will take the floor in their preseason opener against the Philadelphia 76ers. The franchise formerly known as the Charlotte Bobcats officially reclaimed the Hornets name back on May 20th, and not only that, the team also reacquired all the statistical history, records, and information of NBA basketball in Charlotte, meaning that the Hornets will own and have access to all the records from not only the Bobcats era(2004-2014), but all the records from the original Hornets run in Charlotte(1988-2002). Charlotte will be without Gerald Henderson, who underwent an MRI today and will be out for 1-2 weeks. Expect for Noah Vonleh and P.J. Hairston to get some minutes in their preseason debut in a Hornets uniform, while Al Jefferson is determined to have another breakout year for Charlotte in their preseason debut tomorrow in Philadelphia.
Scouting the 76ers
Philadelphia already made their preseason debut, falling to Boston by a 98-78 margin on Monday, and they look to bounce back in their preseason opener against the visiting Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday night at the Wells Fargo Center. Last season, the Sixers finished with a dismal 19-63 record, which saw them lose 26 straight games. But it's a new season for Philadelphia, with the addition of Joel Embid, and a talented young group of players, many hope that this is a turnaround year for the 76ers, and it will all start on Wednesday at home against Charlotte in their preseason home opener.
Upcoming Hornets preseason game schedule(Home games in Purple, Road games in Teal)
Friday: Washington Wizards vs. Charlotte - 7:00 p.m.^
Monday: Orlando Magic vs. Charlotte - 7:00 p.m.
Wednesday: Detroit Pistons vs. Charlotte - 11:00 a.m.%
October 17th: Charlotte @ Washington Wizards - 7:00 p.m.
^-Denotes game played at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina
%-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 on flagship station WFNZ-AM(610 The Fan) and throughout the Carolinas on the Hornets Radio Network.
