Surging Hornets Building Momentum After Victory Over Dallas
LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges combined for 46 points to help the Charlotte Hornets edge the Dallas Mavericks, 110-105 on Monday afternoon. The Hornets are currently riding a three-game winning streak, which is their longest of the season. Charlotte’s defense continues to impress as they scored 23 points off 13 Dallas turnovers. Other contributors for the Hornets were Nick Smith Jr, who scored 19 points, and Mark Williams, who scored 13 points and 13 rebounds. After having two games postponed and losing Brandon Miller to a wrist injury, the Hornets are starting to figure out how to play with one another by continuing to build team chemistry.
A back-and-forth tussle between the two teams finally broke when Smith’s corner three gave the Hornets the lead for good with four minutes to go. The Mavericks tried to stage a comeback but ultimately fell short despite Kyrie Irving scoring 26 of his 33 points after halftime. Dallas has lost four out of their last five games. The Hornets know a thing or two about losing streaks and how to get out of them. Ball, who had 20 points in the first half, continues to be the bright spot for a team that is trying to dig itself out of an early-season hole. The fifth-year point guard leads all Eastern Conference guards in scoring with 29 points per game and ranks first amongst conference guards in the latest round of all-star voting.
Miles Bridges continues to be a great running mate with Ball as he provides an additional 18 points per game and seven rebounds per game, which are good for second on the team. Mark Williams has been a force in the paint since his return from a back injury. During the winning streak, Williams had a statement game against the Utah Jazz by having an impressive stat line of 31 points and 13 rebounds. Having Williams back was one of the reasons the Hornets were okay with trading Nick Richards to the Phoenix Suns for Josh Okogie on January 15th. Okogie has not found his offensive footing in Charlotte yet, but is known for being a good perimeter defender in the league. Okogie’s presence will be a significant addition to an already good defensive team.
Charlotte is now 11-28 on the season, which is good for 13th in the Eastern Conference. However, they are seven games back of the Chicago Bulls for the last spot in the Play-In Tournament. The Eastern Conference is not that great this season; besides the Cleveland Cavaliers, everyone is within striking distance of each other, so the Hornets can make up some ground before the All-Star Break. Charlotte looks to extend their winning streak to four when they visit the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night.
