Brandon Miller made seven 3-pointers as part of his 31 points and led the Charlotte Hornets to a win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, 118-111.
The summary
The Hornets found themselves in a hole early despite one of their better offensive quarters recently. The Cavs made 8-of-11 shots from both 2-point and 3-point range including a whole heap of consecutively made shots near the end of the quarter. The Hornets had a few lapses, but there was an element of it being purely unsustainable shooting from the Cavs. After one quarter, the Hornets trailed 43-23.
The Cavaliers finally ended their consecutive made shot streak at 11 (seven of them being threes) a couple possessions into the second quarter. Meanwhile Brandon Miller hit a pair of threes and Davis Bertans added one of his own to bring the Hornets back into the game. They made it all the way over the hump after a Miles Bridges steal and and-1 tied it and a Grant Williams three broke that tie. A couple of defensive breakdowns led to Cavaliers threes, but the Hornets still only trailed by one at the break thanks to some heroics from Aleksej Pokusevski.
Both teams stayed hot through the break and exchanged a barrage of threes to start the second half. Brandon Miller hit a couple of those, including one while getting knocked over by Evan Mobley. He was originally called for an offensive foul, but a Hornets challenge fixed that. The Hornets built a lead off some interior baskets and lead 100-96 by quarter’s end. It was the first time since the win over the Grizzlies six games ago that the Hornets reached triple digits.
Grant Williams was assessed a technical foul for flopping early in the fourth, and that seemed to stir up some intensity between the teams. The Hornets outmuscled the Cavs for a pair of offensive rebounds, and the extended possession ended with Brandon Miller soaring in for a dunk. A Hornets cold spell let Darius Garland give the Cavs as much as a four point lead within the last four minutes of the fourth. A beautiful fast break that ended with a lob from Miller to Miles Bridges tied the game, then a Miller floater over Jarrett Allen gave the Hornets the lead. Caris LeVert was called for a travel to end a crucial possession with 40 seconds left in the game, and that set up Brandon Miller to hit a dagger three.
The Good
Brandon Miller was a superstar once again. He made seven 3-pointers and hit key shots down the stretch. He’s now may multiple 3-pointers in 13 straight games he was allowed to finish. It’s his third game with more than 30 points. There isn’t a lot to say that hasn’t already been said. The Hornets got a good one.
The Hornets as a team played a whole different level of team ball than they were playing by the end of the road trip. They were clearly rejuvenated by the return home. The ball movement was crisp and decisive, the energy was good, and the joy was present that was seemingly lacking in recent games. They Hornets finished with 30 assists on 44 made shots. They were fun to watch again.
Tre Mann and Vasilije Micic played good floor games from the guard spot. Mann finished with 17 points and eight assists while Micic notched a double double.
Aleksej Pokusevski had some good moments. He seems to struggle with confindence in his decision making, but he showed some impressive skill for his size when he was decisive with his actions.
The Bad
Nothing too notable. No need to nitpick after a much needed win over a good Cavs team.
What’s Next
The Hornets play game two of the homestand against Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors.
Related
jondelong42
Source link
