CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Buckle up. These next two weeks could be a bit bumpy.
Less than 24 hours after a spirited win that lifted them up to eighth place and put destiny in their own hands, the Charlotte Hornets were back at it again Monday, this time matching up with one of the better teams in the Western Conference. Denver posed a different kind of challenge for the Hornets, relying more on its inside strength to impose its will.
That’s an area of weakness for the Hornets and their inability to contain the Nuggets on the interior paired with a cold-shooting fourth quarter doomed them in a 113-109 loss to at Spectrum Center.
The Hornets (39-37) slipped into ninth place in the Eastern Conference, a half-game behind Brooklyn and a game ahead of 10th-place Atlanta, with six games remaining.
Here are some of the main takeaways from the Hornets’ defeat.
HARRELL GETS THE HOOK
Montrezl Harrell gave the Hornets a nice boost off the bench, infusing them with nine points and five rebounds in the first half. But his night ended early after a mild altercation with Denver’s Aaron Gordon late in the third quarter.
Following a whistle for a foul call, Harrell stepped slightly over Austin Rivers as he lay in the lane and Gordon apparently didn’t like it, shoving Harrell. The Hornets’ big man wasn’t feeling Gordon putting his hands on him and shoved him back, leading to a confrontation.
After a conference with the two other officials and a video review, lead official Bill Kennedy delivered the news to coach James Borrego and Harrell, ejecting the Hornets’ center and sending him to the locker room. Harrell pulled off his purple arm sleeve and ran into the tunnel obviously frustrated by the decision.
OUT OF FUEL
It could have been because they were on the second night of a back-to-back and they had sea legs. But on four occasions late in the fourth quarter, the Hornets had an opportunity to knot the game on a 3-pointer and clanked it off the rim each time.
In fact, they struggled behind the arc in general against the Nuggets. They connected on just 13 of 41 attempts from 3-point territory, with Bridges struggling mightily. He went 2 of 10.
FEASTING ON SECONDS
Nikola Jokic is a handful inside, and containing him and keeping him off the glass is a difficult proposition. The league’s reigning Most Valuable Player has a way of almost volleying the ball in the air on offensive rebounds attempts, which is an effective method of getting the Nuggets another shot or two at the bucket.
Limiting Denver’s second-chance points was a problem. The Hornets yielded 32 of them and the culprit was their inability to corral the ball off the glass and close out possessions. They surrendered 17 offensive rebounds and that allowed the Nuggets to control the action for the bulk of the second half.
BAGGAGE CLAIM
The Hornets’ have enjoyed their friendly confines over the better part of the last two weeks thanks to their longest homestand of the season. That’s changing, though. They’re about to get reacquainted with their suitcases.
Four of their next five games are on the road, including a three-game trip stretched out over nearly a week. Three of those dates come against teams in the postseason hunt and Philadelphia, Miami and Chicago each are jockeying for seeding.
If the Hornets plan on hosting a home playoff matchup — which they can do provided they finish anywhere other than 10th — they must take care of business on the road and try to improve on their 19-18 mark and earn their first winning season away from Spectrum Center since 2001-02 when they went 23-18.
