CHARLOTTE, N.C. — After the Hornets’ lopsided win over the Detroit Pistons on Friday night, it felt like they were finally snapping out of the rough shooting slump that has plagued them for the better part of two weeks.
A slump that had caused them to lose six consecutive games before it was finally snapped.
But nope.
Saturday night’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies, one of the Western’s Conference best teams, was more of the same.
The Hornets started slow, came back in the fourth, but couldn’t finish the job. They dropped another home game, losing 125-118 at the Spectrum Center.
Charlotte has lost seven of its last eight.
Hornets guard Terry Rozier had a team-high 35 points. LaMelo Ball added 25 points.
Grizzlies point guard and NBA All-Star Ja Morant scored 26 points, grabbed six rebounds and had six assists and briefly left the game with just over two minutes left in the third quarter with what appeared to be a left ankle injury.
But he returned and helped the Grizzlies bury the Hornets.
Here are some takeaways:
Hornets start sluggish but turn it up
Playing on the second night of a back-to-back, the Hornets were sluggish in the first half. The shots, once again, were not falling.
Against the Pistons, Miles Bridges was on fire, scoring 25 points on 10-of-16 shooting in the 141-119 win. But against the Grizzlies, he struggled, shooting 2 of 13 overall and 0 for 5 from behind the 3-point line. He also didn’t play much in the fourth quarter.
Perhaps it was the fact that the Hornets traveled from Detroit to Charlotte in one night before. Multiple starters played 30-plus minutes in that game, including Bridges.
Charlotte made only 27.5% (14 of 51) of its baskets in the first half and trailed by 31 points at halftime.
Then the Hornets turned it up. Led by Montrezl Harrell, Ball and Rozier, they locked down on defense and made up significant ground in the third and fourth quarters. They closed the gap to four points with 1:40 left.
But it wasn’t enough.
With the Hornets on a 23-9 run in the fourth quarter, Morant hit clutch back-to-back shots with about four minutes left to extend the Grizzlies’ lead.
The Hornets never got closer than four points.
“We let them get comfortable and we was playing catch up the whole game,” Rozier said.
Keeping their cool
The Hornets received two technical fouls in the second quarter, struggling to keep their cool in intense moments.
Rozier was called for a tech early in the second quarter after arguing a non-call on what he thought was a foul.
Then later in the quarter, center Mason Plumlee received a tech after pushing down Grizzlies center Steven Adams and tossing the ball at him while he was on the court.
It was uncharacteristic of the Hornets, who have 23 technical fouls in 57 games this season.
Montrezl Harrell becoming a fan favorite
Harrell is like the energizer bunny. He just keeps going and going and going.
Every time he scored, the crowd erupted. Many of his points came from effort plays. He corralled offensive rebounds, extending possessions and finished through contact.
He finished with 20 points and nine rebounds.
The Hornets traded for Harrell earlier this week, and it has already paid dividends. He scored 15 points Friday in his first game with the team.
