CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; There was plenty of debate in the weeks leading up&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-draft-2023-wembanyama-updates-00f52206057df4b872898010243d3bd8">to the NBA draft</a>&nbsp;over whether the Charlotte Hornets preferred Alabama&rsquo;s Brandon Miller or the G League Ignite&rsquo;s Scoot Henderson with the No 2 pick.
In general manager Mitch Kupchak&rsquo;s mind there was never a debate.
&ldquo;Brandon was our favorite all along,&rdquo; Kupchak said. &ldquo;There was a lot of spirited discussion in the last three days, which I welcome. ... But I think he&rsquo;s the player that is the best player.&rdquo;
Miller gives the Hornets&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6F7obl-vfp4" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">an athletic 6-foot-9 wing</a>&nbsp;with a smooth shooting stroke who can knock down shots from the perimeter. He averaged 18.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game last season for the Crimson Tide, who entered the NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 overall seed before making an early exit.
But the Southeastern Conference&rsquo;s player of the year as a freshman comes with some baggage.
Miller is tied to a case that led to former Tide player Darius Miles and another man&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/alabama-darius-miles-fatal-shooting-indictment-jamea-harris-887b6419c4b576da778b710a58b8acf7">being indicted</a>&nbsp;on capital murder charges.&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/Nate-Oats-Brandon-Miller-Alabama-Basketball-4efc92362b106b01ab0d0a2ee9a4ea6c">A police investigator testified in February</a>&nbsp;that Miles texted Miller to bring him his gun that night. Miller hasn&rsquo;t been charged with wrongdoing, though&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/alabama-darius-miles-murder-charge-533386c46d0822a56878b3d3d07717c9">the ongoing case</a>&nbsp;brought&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/sports-alabama-crimson-tide-top-25-college-basketball-today-darius-miles-a32a922ed4e9a483dde15bd24445ce83">intense scrutiny</a>&nbsp;during the second half of the season for&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/brandon-miller-alabama-ncaa-tournament-security-guard-7104ab515dfaf81ae09abf94f0bd3165">Miller and the Alabama program</a>.
&nbsp;

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; There was plenty of debate in the weeks leading up&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-draft-2023-wembanyama-updates-00f52206057df4b872898010243d3bd8">to the NBA draft</a>&nbsp;over whether the Charlotte Hornets preferred Alabama&rsquo;s Brandon Miller or the G League Ignite&rsquo;s Scoot Henderson with the No 2 pick.
In general manager Mitch Kupchak&rsquo;s mind there was never a debate.
&ldquo;Brandon was our favorite all along,&rdquo; Kupchak said. &ldquo;There was a lot of spirited discussion in the last three days, which I welcome. ... But I think he&rsquo;s the player that is the best player.&rdquo;
Miller gives the Hornets&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6F7obl-vfp4" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">an athletic 6-foot-9 wing</a>&nbsp;with a smooth shooting stroke who can knock down shots from the perimeter. He averaged 18.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game last season for the Crimson Tide, who entered the NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 overall seed before making an early exit.
But the Southeastern Conference&rsquo;s player of the year as a freshman comes with some baggage.
Miller is tied to a case that led to former Tide player Darius Miles and another man&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/alabama-darius-miles-fatal-shooting-indictment-jamea-harris-887b6419c4b576da778b710a58b8acf7">being indicted</a>&nbsp;on capital murder charges.&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/Nate-Oats-Brandon-Miller-Alabama-Basketball-4efc92362b106b01ab0d0a2ee9a4ea6c">A police investigator testified in February</a>&nbsp;that Miles texted Miller to bring him his gun that night. Miller hasn&rsquo;t been charged with wrongdoing, though&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/alabama-darius-miles-murder-charge-533386c46d0822a56878b3d3d07717c9">the ongoing case</a>&nbsp;brought&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/sports-alabama-crimson-tide-top-25-college-basketball-today-darius-miles-a32a922ed4e9a483dde15bd24445ce83">intense scrutiny</a>&nbsp;during the second half of the season for&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/brandon-miller-alabama-ncaa-tournament-security-guard-7104ab515dfaf81ae09abf94f0bd3165">Miller and the Alabama program</a>.
Kupchak said the Hornets conducted an extensive background check on Miller, including a trip to Alabama about two weeks ago.
&ldquo;We are comfortable with Brandon on and off the court,&rdquo; Kupchak said.
Miller has said he can&rsquo;t discuss the case.
On much a lighter note, Miller made news last week when he said he considered Paul George his personal GOAT, or the greatest of all-time.
He didn&rsquo;t back off that Thursday night even after being drafted by&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/charlotte-hornets-sale-michael-jordan-527087d134136ef38cae1da8d1c95b01">outgoing Hornets majority owner and six-time NBA champion Michael Jordan</a>, considered by many the best player ever.
&nbsp;

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; There was plenty of debate in the weeks leading up&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-draft-2023-wembanyama-updates-00f52206057df4b872898010243d3bd8">to the NBA draft</a>&nbsp;over whether the Charlotte Hornets preferred Alabama&rsquo;s Brandon Miller or the G League Ignite&rsquo;s Scoot Henderson with the No 2 pick.
In general manager Mitch Kupchak&rsquo;s mind there was never a debate.
&ldquo;Brandon was our favorite all along,&rdquo; Kupchak said. &ldquo;There was a lot of spirited discussion in the last three days, which I welcome. ... But I think he&rsquo;s the player that is the best player.&rdquo;
Miller gives the Hornets&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6F7obl-vfp4" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">an athletic 6-foot-9 wing</a>&nbsp;with a smooth shooting stroke who can knock down shots from the perimeter. He averaged 18.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game last season for the Crimson Tide, who entered the NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 overall seed before making an early exit.
But the Southeastern Conference&rsquo;s player of the year as a freshman comes with some baggage.
Miller is tied to a case that led to former Tide player Darius Miles and another man&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/alabama-darius-miles-fatal-shooting-indictment-jamea-harris-887b6419c4b576da778b710a58b8acf7">being indicted</a>&nbsp;on capital murder charges.&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/Nate-Oats-Brandon-Miller-Alabama-Basketball-4efc92362b106b01ab0d0a2ee9a4ea6c">A police investigator testified in February</a>&nbsp;that Miles texted Miller to bring him his gun that night. Miller hasn&rsquo;t been charged with wrongdoing, though&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/alabama-darius-miles-murder-charge-533386c46d0822a56878b3d3d07717c9">the ongoing case</a>&nbsp;brought&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/sports-alabama-crimson-tide-top-25-college-basketball-today-darius-miles-a32a922ed4e9a483dde15bd24445ce83">intense scrutiny</a>&nbsp;during the second half of the season for&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/brandon-miller-alabama-ncaa-tournament-security-guard-7104ab515dfaf81ae09abf94f0bd3165">Miller and the Alabama program</a>.
Kupchak said the Hornets conducted an extensive background check on Miller, including a trip to Alabama about two weeks ago.
&ldquo;We are comfortable with Brandon on and off the court,&rdquo; Kupchak said.
Miller has said he can&rsquo;t discuss the case.
On much a lighter note, Miller made news last week when he said he considered Paul George his personal GOAT, or the greatest of all-time.
He didn&rsquo;t back off that Thursday night even after being drafted by&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/charlotte-hornets-sale-michael-jordan-527087d134136ef38cae1da8d1c95b01">outgoing Hornets majority owner and six-time NBA champion Michael Jordan</a>, considered by many the best player ever.
&ldquo;I think I made it clear that Paul George is still my GOAT, but Mike is definitely up there when in his prime,&rdquo; Miller said with a laugh. &ldquo;Mike does everything. We wear his shoes and he jumps from the free throw line. But Paul George is my GOAT.&rdquo;
Miller appears to be a better positional fit for the Hornets than Henderson, who would have joined a crowded backcourt that includes LaMelo Ball and Terry Rozier, last year&rsquo;s leading scorer.
&nbsp;

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; There was plenty of debate in the weeks leading up&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-draft-2023-wembanyama-updates-00f52206057df4b872898010243d3bd8">to the NBA draft</a>&nbsp;over whether the Charlotte Hornets preferred Alabama&rsquo;s Brandon Miller or the G League Ignite&rsquo;s Scoot Henderson with the No 2 pick.
In general manager Mitch Kupchak&rsquo;s mind there was never a debate.
&ldquo;Brandon was our favorite all along,&rdquo; Kupchak said. &ldquo;There was a lot of spirited discussion in the last three days, which I welcome. ... But I think he&rsquo;s the player that is the best player.&rdquo;
Miller gives the Hornets&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6F7obl-vfp4" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">an athletic 6-foot-9 wing</a>&nbsp;with a smooth shooting stroke who can knock down shots from the perimeter. He averaged 18.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game last season for the Crimson Tide, who entered the NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 overall seed before making an early exit.
But the Southeastern Conference&rsquo;s player of the year as a freshman comes with some baggage.
Miller is tied to a case that led to former Tide player Darius Miles and another man&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/alabama-darius-miles-fatal-shooting-indictment-jamea-harris-887b6419c4b576da778b710a58b8acf7">being indicted</a>&nbsp;on capital murder charges.&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/Nate-Oats-Brandon-Miller-Alabama-Basketball-4efc92362b106b01ab0d0a2ee9a4ea6c">A police investigator testified in February</a>&nbsp;that Miles texted Miller to bring him his gun that night. Miller hasn&rsquo;t been charged with wrongdoing, though&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/alabama-darius-miles-murder-charge-533386c46d0822a56878b3d3d07717c9">the ongoing case</a>&nbsp;brought&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/sports-alabama-crimson-tide-top-25-college-basketball-today-darius-miles-a32a922ed4e9a483dde15bd24445ce83">intense scrutiny</a>&nbsp;during the second half of the season for&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/brandon-miller-alabama-ncaa-tournament-security-guard-7104ab515dfaf81ae09abf94f0bd3165">Miller and the Alabama program</a>.
Kupchak said the Hornets conducted an extensive background check on Miller, including a trip to Alabama about two weeks ago.
&ldquo;We are comfortable with Brandon on and off the court,&rdquo; Kupchak said.
Miller has said he can&rsquo;t discuss the case.
On much a lighter note, Miller made news last week when he said he considered Paul George his personal GOAT, or the greatest of all-time.
He didn&rsquo;t back off that Thursday night even after being drafted by&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/charlotte-hornets-sale-michael-jordan-527087d134136ef38cae1da8d1c95b01">outgoing Hornets majority owner and six-time NBA champion Michael Jordan</a>, considered by many the best player ever.
&ldquo;I think I made it clear that Paul George is still my GOAT, but Mike is definitely up there when in his prime,&rdquo; Miller said with a laugh. &ldquo;Mike does everything. We wear his shoes and he jumps from the free throw line. But Paul George is my GOAT.&rdquo;
Miller appears to be a better positional fit for the Hornets than Henderson, who would have joined a crowded backcourt that includes LaMelo Ball and Terry Rozier, last year&rsquo;s leading scorer.
As a wing, Miller has a good chance to see significant playing time.
Gordon Hayward, who has struggled with injury issues, is in the final year of his contract and it&rsquo;s unclear if the team will try to re-sign restricted free agent Miles Bridges, who missed all last season while dealing with a domestic violence case. Bridges will&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/miles-bridges-suspension-charlotte-hornets-ca37e404209b6298ced4c1a46d5d59d6">serve a 10-game suspension to start the season</a>&nbsp;after&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/charlotte-hornets-nba-sports-los-angeles-miles-bridges-cfb86b443b52ad43038886363feeedc4">pleading no contest last November</a>&nbsp;and being sentenced to serve three years of probation.
Miller feels he should benefit from playing with Ball, who is an above-average ball distributor.
&ldquo;Melo is my guy,&rdquo; Miller said. &ldquo;I think with Melo, as good of a point guard as he is, I just kind of fill in the place (on the court). And I know he is going to be the big brother for me away from home.&rdquo;
The 20-year-old Miller is also considered a much better shooter than Henderson, addressing an area of concern for Charlotte.
&nbsp;

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; There was plenty of debate in the weeks leading up&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-draft-2023-wembanyama-updates-00f52206057df4b872898010243d3bd8">to the NBA draft</a>&nbsp;over whether the Charlotte Hornets preferred Alabama&rsquo;s Brandon Miller or the G League Ignite&rsquo;s Scoot Henderson with the No 2 pick.
In general manager Mitch Kupchak&rsquo;s mind there was never a debate.
&ldquo;Brandon was our favorite all along,&rdquo; Kupchak said. &ldquo;There was a lot of spirited discussion in the last three days, which I welcome. ... But I think he&rsquo;s the player that is the best player.&rdquo;
Miller gives the Hornets&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6F7obl-vfp4" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">an athletic 6-foot-9 wing</a>&nbsp;with a smooth shooting stroke who can knock down shots from the perimeter. He averaged 18.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game last season for the Crimson Tide, who entered the NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 overall seed before making an early exit.
But the Southeastern Conference&rsquo;s player of the year as a freshman comes with some baggage.
Miller is tied to a case that led to former Tide player Darius Miles and another man&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/alabama-darius-miles-fatal-shooting-indictment-jamea-harris-887b6419c4b576da778b710a58b8acf7">being indicted</a>&nbsp;on capital murder charges.&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/Nate-Oats-Brandon-Miller-Alabama-Basketball-4efc92362b106b01ab0d0a2ee9a4ea6c">A police investigator testified in February</a>&nbsp;that Miles texted Miller to bring him his gun that night. Miller hasn&rsquo;t been charged with wrongdoing, though&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/alabama-darius-miles-murder-charge-533386c46d0822a56878b3d3d07717c9">the ongoing case</a>&nbsp;brought&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/sports-alabama-crimson-tide-top-25-college-basketball-today-darius-miles-a32a922ed4e9a483dde15bd24445ce83">intense scrutiny</a>&nbsp;during the second half of the season for&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/brandon-miller-alabama-ncaa-tournament-security-guard-7104ab515dfaf81ae09abf94f0bd3165">Miller and the Alabama program</a>.
Kupchak said the Hornets conducted an extensive background check on Miller, including a trip to Alabama about two weeks ago.
&ldquo;We are comfortable with Brandon on and off the court,&rdquo; Kupchak said.
Miller has said he can&rsquo;t discuss the case.
On much a lighter note, Miller made news last week when he said he considered Paul George his personal GOAT, or the greatest of all-time.
He didn&rsquo;t back off that Thursday night even after being drafted by&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/charlotte-hornets-sale-michael-jordan-527087d134136ef38cae1da8d1c95b01">outgoing Hornets majority owner and six-time NBA champion Michael Jordan</a>, considered by many the best player ever.
&ldquo;I think I made it clear that Paul George is still my GOAT, but Mike is definitely up there when in his prime,&rdquo; Miller said with a laugh. &ldquo;Mike does everything. We wear his shoes and he jumps from the free throw line. But Paul George is my GOAT.&rdquo;
Miller appears to be a better positional fit for the Hornets than Henderson, who would have joined a crowded backcourt that includes LaMelo Ball and Terry Rozier, last year&rsquo;s leading scorer.
As a wing, Miller has a good chance to see significant playing time.
Gordon Hayward, who has struggled with injury issues, is in the final year of his contract and it&rsquo;s unclear if the team will try to re-sign restricted free agent Miles Bridges, who missed all last season while dealing with a domestic violence case. Bridges will&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/miles-bridges-suspension-charlotte-hornets-ca37e404209b6298ced4c1a46d5d59d6">serve a 10-game suspension to start the season</a>&nbsp;after&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/charlotte-hornets-nba-sports-los-angeles-miles-bridges-cfb86b443b52ad43038886363feeedc4">pleading no contest last November</a>&nbsp;and being sentenced to serve three years of probation.
Miller feels he should benefit from playing with Ball, who is an above-average ball distributor.
&ldquo;Melo is my guy,&rdquo; Miller said. &ldquo;I think with Melo, as good of a point guard as he is, I just kind of fill in the place (on the court). And I know he is going to be the big brother for me away from home.&rdquo;
The 20-year-old Miller is also considered a much better shooter than Henderson, addressing an area of concern for Charlotte.
The Hornets finished 29th in the league last season on 3-pointers at 33%. Miller shot 38.4% from beyond the arc at Alabama. Henderson shot just 27.5% from deep last season for the Ignite, although the 3-point line is deeper in the G League.
At the Spectrum Center in downtown Charlotte, the Hornets&rsquo; decision to take Miller over Henderson was greeted with a mixed reaction by about 5,000 fans gathered for a draft party.
Before the pick, fans cheered loudly when Henderson was shown on the big screen.
Miller joins a Hornets team that hasn&rsquo;t reached the postseason in an NBA-worst seven straight seasons and finished with the fourth-worst record in the league last season at 27-55. Charlotte managed to move up two spots in the lottery, barely missing out on the No. 1 pick and Victor Wembanyama.
Kupchak said a handful of teams showed significant interest in trading up to the No. 2 spot, but added &ldquo;we never got to the point where we seriously considered moving the pick.&rdquo;
The Hornets selected 19-year-old guard Nick Smith Jr. from Arkansas with the 27th overall pick. Smith had been projected as a potential top-five pick before a knee injury caused him to miss 19 games last season.
Charlotte also added James Nnaji, a 6-foot-11 center from FC Barcelona, and UCLA guard Amari Bailey in the second round.

The Charlotte Hornets preferred Alabama’s Brandon Miller over the G League Ignite’s Scoot Henderson with the No 2 pick.

Hornets select Brandon Miller with the No. 2 pick in NBA Draft

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Pascal Siakam scored 36 points, Fred VanVleet added 20 points and a career-high 20 assists and the Toronto Raptors beat the undermanned Charlotte Hornets 128-108 on Sunday to inch closer to securing a spot in the NBA play-in tournament.
O.G. Anunoby added 23 points for the Raptors, who&rsquo;ll clinch a spot if the Brooklyn Nets beat the Utah Jazz later Sunday.
The Raptors (39-39) entered the day tied with the Atlanta Hawks for eighth place in the Eastern Conference and looking to move up in the standings to secure a better chance of advancing out of the play-in tournament. The team finishing eighth needs just one victory; the team finishing ninth would need two to reach the postseason as the No. 8 seed.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s really important for us&rdquo; to get to the 8 seed, VanVleet said. &ldquo;For the last couple of weeks it has been really simple for us &mdash; we&rsquo;re in a win-every-game mode. There&rsquo;s not much to think about. You have to go out and perform and play your best and try to take care of business. We are just trying to play our best basketball at this time of the year.&rdquo;
&nbsp;

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Pascal Siakam scored 36 points, Fred VanVleet added 20 points and a career-high 20 assists and the Toronto Raptors beat the undermanned Charlotte Hornets 128-108 on Sunday to inch closer to securing a spot in the NBA play-in tournament.
O.G. Anunoby added 23 points for the Raptors, who&rsquo;ll clinch a spot if the Brooklyn Nets beat the Utah Jazz later Sunday.
The Raptors (39-39) entered the day tied with the Atlanta Hawks for eighth place in the Eastern Conference and looking to move up in the standings to secure a better chance of advancing out of the play-in tournament. The team finishing eighth needs just one victory; the team finishing ninth would need two to reach the postseason as the No. 8 seed.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s really important for us&rdquo; to get to the 8 seed, VanVleet said. &ldquo;For the last couple of weeks it has been really simple for us &mdash; we&rsquo;re in a win-every-game mode. There&rsquo;s not much to think about. You have to go out and perform and play your best and try to take care of business. We are just trying to play our best basketball at this time of the year.&rdquo;
VanVleet, who now owns the franchise single-game records for points and assists, made sure the Raptors were on top of their game.
&nbsp;

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Pascal Siakam scored 36 points, Fred VanVleet added 20 points and a career-high 20 assists and the Toronto Raptors beat the undermanned Charlotte Hornets 128-108 on Sunday to inch closer to securing a spot in the NBA play-in tournament.
O.G. Anunoby added 23 points for the Raptors, who&rsquo;ll clinch a spot if the Brooklyn Nets beat the Utah Jazz later Sunday.
The Raptors (39-39) entered the day tied with the Atlanta Hawks for eighth place in the Eastern Conference and looking to move up in the standings to secure a better chance of advancing out of the play-in tournament. The team finishing eighth needs just one victory; the team finishing ninth would need two to reach the postseason as the No. 8 seed.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s really important for us&rdquo; to get to the 8 seed, VanVleet said. &ldquo;For the last couple of weeks it has been really simple for us &mdash; we&rsquo;re in a win-every-game mode. There&rsquo;s not much to think about. You have to go out and perform and play your best and try to take care of business. We are just trying to play our best basketball at this time of the year.&rdquo;
VanVleet, who now owns the franchise single-game records for points and assists, made sure the Raptors were on top of their game.
The Raptors outscored the Hornets 90-44 in the paint in the opener of a two-game series, which helped offset 8-of-28 shooting from 3-point range. The teams meet again Tuesday night in Charlotte.
&ldquo;He was really good,&rdquo; Toronto coach Nick Nurse said of VanVleet. &ldquo;He got the ball a lot of places where it needed to go.&rdquo;
Hornets coach Steve Clifford said VanVleet was &ldquo;high intensity&rdquo; from the beginning and his team couldn&rsquo;t stop him on the pick-and-roll.
&ldquo;He just crushed us,&rdquo; Clifford said. &ldquo;Every pick-and-roll, it didn&rsquo;t matter, angle, high side, he either scored, got fouled or they got a wide-open shot. So we&rsquo;ve mixed up the schemes but none of that worked.&rdquo;
Svi Mykhailiuk scored a career-high 26 points and Mark Williams added 15 points and 12 rebounds for the injury-riddled Hornets, who played without all five of the team&rsquo;s anticipated starters this season. James Bouknight added 21 points and Theo Maledon had 14 assists.
The Raptors dominated from the start.
VanVleet made his impact felt early, scoring 11 points and assisting on six other baskets in the first quarter as Toronto built a 35-25 lead.
&nbsp;

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Pascal Siakam scored 36 points, Fred VanVleet added 20 points and a career-high 20 assists and the Toronto Raptors beat the undermanned Charlotte Hornets 128-108 on Sunday to inch closer to securing a spot in the NBA play-in tournament.
O.G. Anunoby added 23 points for the Raptors, who&rsquo;ll clinch a spot if the Brooklyn Nets beat the Utah Jazz later Sunday.
The Raptors (39-39) entered the day tied with the Atlanta Hawks for eighth place in the Eastern Conference and looking to move up in the standings to secure a better chance of advancing out of the play-in tournament. The team finishing eighth needs just one victory; the team finishing ninth would need two to reach the postseason as the No. 8 seed.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s really important for us&rdquo; to get to the 8 seed, VanVleet said. &ldquo;For the last couple of weeks it has been really simple for us &mdash; we&rsquo;re in a win-every-game mode. There&rsquo;s not much to think about. You have to go out and perform and play your best and try to take care of business. We are just trying to play our best basketball at this time of the year.&rdquo;
VanVleet, who now owns the franchise single-game records for points and assists, made sure the Raptors were on top of their game.
The Raptors outscored the Hornets 90-44 in the paint in the opener of a two-game series, which helped offset 8-of-28 shooting from 3-point range. The teams meet again Tuesday night in Charlotte.
&ldquo;He was really good,&rdquo; Toronto coach Nick Nurse said of VanVleet. &ldquo;He got the ball a lot of places where it needed to go.&rdquo;
Hornets coach Steve Clifford said VanVleet was &ldquo;high intensity&rdquo; from the beginning and his team couldn&rsquo;t stop him on the pick-and-roll.
&ldquo;He just crushed us,&rdquo; Clifford said. &ldquo;Every pick-and-roll, it didn&rsquo;t matter, angle, high side, he either scored, got fouled or they got a wide-open shot. So we&rsquo;ve mixed up the schemes but none of that worked.&rdquo;
Svi Mykhailiuk scored a career-high 26 points and Mark Williams added 15 points and 12 rebounds for the injury-riddled Hornets, who played without all five of the team&rsquo;s anticipated starters this season. James Bouknight added 21 points and Theo Maledon had 14 assists.
The Raptors dominated from the start.
VanVleet made his impact felt early, scoring 11 points and assisting on six other baskets in the first quarter as Toronto built a 35-25 lead.
The Hornets (26-53) had nine turnovers in the first half leading to 18 Raptors points, the highlight coming when Scottie Barnes came up with a steal and provided an alley-oop lob to a cutting Precious Achiuwa for a fast-break dunk.
Charlotte cut Toronto&rsquo;s 18-point lead to 10 midway through the fourth after JT Thor knocked down a corner 3 but Siakam helped the Raptors push the lead safely back to 16 with eight points down the stretch.
&ldquo;I thought we played really disciplined offensively,&rdquo; Nurse said. &ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t make a lot of really good shots. We had some really nice two passes to corner 3s and we didn&rsquo;t make one of them. We&rsquo;re still doing the right things and getting it where it was supposed to go, and that&rsquo;s all you can do.&rdquo;
&nbsp;

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Pascal Siakam scored 36 points, Fred VanVleet added 20 points and a career-high 20 assists and the Toronto Raptors beat the undermanned Charlotte Hornets 128-108 on Sunday to inch closer to securing a spot in the NBA play-in tournament.
O.G. Anunoby added 23 points for the Raptors, who&rsquo;ll clinch a spot if the Brooklyn Nets beat the Utah Jazz later Sunday.
The Raptors (39-39) entered the day tied with the Atlanta Hawks for eighth place in the Eastern Conference and looking to move up in the standings to secure a better chance of advancing out of the play-in tournament. The team finishing eighth needs just one victory; the team finishing ninth would need two to reach the postseason as the No. 8 seed.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s really important for us&rdquo; to get to the 8 seed, VanVleet said. &ldquo;For the last couple of weeks it has been really simple for us &mdash; we&rsquo;re in a win-every-game mode. There&rsquo;s not much to think about. You have to go out and perform and play your best and try to take care of business. We are just trying to play our best basketball at this time of the year.&rdquo;
VanVleet, who now owns the franchise single-game records for points and assists, made sure the Raptors were on top of their game.
The Raptors outscored the Hornets 90-44 in the paint in the opener of a two-game series, which helped offset 8-of-28 shooting from 3-point range. The teams meet again Tuesday night in Charlotte.
&ldquo;He was really good,&rdquo; Toronto coach Nick Nurse said of VanVleet. &ldquo;He got the ball a lot of places where it needed to go.&rdquo;
Hornets coach Steve Clifford said VanVleet was &ldquo;high intensity&rdquo; from the beginning and his team couldn&rsquo;t stop him on the pick-and-roll.
&ldquo;He just crushed us,&rdquo; Clifford said. &ldquo;Every pick-and-roll, it didn&rsquo;t matter, angle, high side, he either scored, got fouled or they got a wide-open shot. So we&rsquo;ve mixed up the schemes but none of that worked.&rdquo;
Svi Mykhailiuk scored a career-high 26 points and Mark Williams added 15 points and 12 rebounds for the injury-riddled Hornets, who played without all five of the team&rsquo;s anticipated starters this season. James Bouknight added 21 points and Theo Maledon had 14 assists.
The Raptors dominated from the start.
VanVleet made his impact felt early, scoring 11 points and assisting on six other baskets in the first quarter as Toronto built a 35-25 lead.
The Hornets (26-53) had nine turnovers in the first half leading to 18 Raptors points, the highlight coming when Scottie Barnes came up with a steal and provided an alley-oop lob to a cutting Precious Achiuwa for a fast-break dunk.
Charlotte cut Toronto&rsquo;s 18-point lead to 10 midway through the fourth after JT Thor knocked down a corner 3 but Siakam helped the Raptors push the lead safely back to 16 with eight points down the stretch.
&ldquo;I thought we played really disciplined offensively,&rdquo; Nurse said. &ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t make a lot of really good shots. We had some really nice two passes to corner 3s and we didn&rsquo;t make one of them. We&rsquo;re still doing the right things and getting it where it was supposed to go, and that&rsquo;s all you can do.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Raptors: Anunoby suffered what Nurse described as a &ldquo;mild, mild sprain&rdquo; of his ankle. ... Turned 18 Charlotte turnovers into 28 points. ... Bench was outscored 40-21.
Hornets: Were missing a number of key players including all three point guards in LaMelo Ball, Terry Rozier and Dennis Smith Jr., along with Gordon Hayward, P.J. Washington and Cody Martin. ... Bouknight now has 11 3-pointers in the last two games.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Pascal Siakam scored 36 points, Fred VanVleet added 20 points and a career-high 20 assists and the Toronto Raptors beat the undermanned Charlotte Hornets 128-108 on Sunday to secure a spot in the NBA play-in tournament.
O.G. Anunoby added 23 points for the Raptors, who clinched after the Brooklyn Nets beat the Utah Jazz later in the day.
The Raptors (39-39) are now focused on seeding with four games remaining.
They entered the day tied with the Atlanta Hawks for eighth place in the Eastern Conference and looking to move up in the standings to secure a better chance of advancing out of the play-in tournament. The team finishing eighth needs just one victory; the team finishing ninth would need two to reach the postseason as the No. 8 seed.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s really important for us&rdquo; to get to the 8 seed, VanVleet said. &ldquo;For the last couple of weeks it has been really simple for us &mdash; we&rsquo;re in a win-every-game mode. There&rsquo;s not much to think about. You have to go out and perform and play your best and try to take care of business. We are just trying to play our best basketball at this time of the year.&rdquo;
&nbsp;

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Pascal Siakam scored 36 points, Fred VanVleet added 20 points and a career-high 20 assists and the Toronto Raptors beat the undermanned Charlotte Hornets 128-108 on Sunday to secure a spot in the NBA play-in tournament.
O.G. Anunoby added 23 points for the Raptors, who clinched after the Brooklyn Nets beat the Utah Jazz later in the day.
The Raptors (39-39) are now focused on seeding with four games remaining.
They entered the day tied with the Atlanta Hawks for eighth place in the Eastern Conference and looking to move up in the standings to secure a better chance of advancing out of the play-in tournament. The team finishing eighth needs just one victory; the team finishing ninth would need two to reach the postseason as the No. 8 seed.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s really important for us&rdquo; to get to the 8 seed, VanVleet said. &ldquo;For the last couple of weeks it has been really simple for us &mdash; we&rsquo;re in a win-every-game mode. There&rsquo;s not much to think about. You have to go out and perform and play your best and try to take care of business. We are just trying to play our best basketball at this time of the year.&rdquo;
VanVleet, who now owns the franchise single-game records for points and assists, made sure the Raptors were on top of their game.
&nbsp;

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Pascal Siakam scored 36 points, Fred VanVleet added 20 points and a career-high 20 assists and the Toronto Raptors beat the undermanned Charlotte Hornets 128-108 on Sunday to secure a spot in the NBA play-in tournament.
O.G. Anunoby added 23 points for the Raptors, who clinched after the Brooklyn Nets beat the Utah Jazz later in the day.
The Raptors (39-39) are now focused on seeding with four games remaining.
They entered the day tied with the Atlanta Hawks for eighth place in the Eastern Conference and looking to move up in the standings to secure a better chance of advancing out of the play-in tournament. The team finishing eighth needs just one victory; the team finishing ninth would need two to reach the postseason as the No. 8 seed.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s really important for us&rdquo; to get to the 8 seed, VanVleet said. &ldquo;For the last couple of weeks it has been really simple for us &mdash; we&rsquo;re in a win-every-game mode. There&rsquo;s not much to think about. You have to go out and perform and play your best and try to take care of business. We are just trying to play our best basketball at this time of the year.&rdquo;
VanVleet, who now owns the franchise single-game records for points and assists, made sure the Raptors were on top of their game.
The Raptors outscored the Hornets 90-44 in the paint in the opener of a two-game series, which helped offset 8-of-28 shooting from 3-point range. The teams meet again Tuesday night in Charlotte.
&ldquo;He was really good,&rdquo; Toronto coach Nick Nurse said of VanVleet. &ldquo;He got the ball a lot of places where it needed to go.&rdquo;
Hornets coach Steve Clifford said VanVleet was &ldquo;high intensity&rdquo; from the beginning and his team couldn&rsquo;t stop him on the pick-and-roll.
&ldquo;He just crushed us,&rdquo; Clifford said. &ldquo;Every pick-and-roll, it didn&rsquo;t matter, angle, high side, he either scored, got fouled or they got a wide-open shot. So we&rsquo;ve mixed up the schemes but none of that worked.&rdquo;
Svi Mykhailiuk scored a career-high 26 points and Mark Williams added 15 points and 12 rebounds for the injury-riddled Hornets, who played without all five of the team&rsquo;s anticipated starters this season. James Bouknight added 21 points and Theo Maledon had 14 assists.
The Raptors dominated from the start.
&nbsp;

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Pascal Siakam scored 36 points, Fred VanVleet added 20 points and a career-high 20 assists and the Toronto Raptors beat the undermanned Charlotte Hornets 128-108 on Sunday to secure a spot in the NBA play-in tournament.
O.G. Anunoby added 23 points for the Raptors, who clinched after the Brooklyn Nets beat the Utah Jazz later in the day.
The Raptors (39-39) are now focused on seeding with four games remaining.
They entered the day tied with the Atlanta Hawks for eighth place in the Eastern Conference and looking to move up in the standings to secure a better chance of advancing out of the play-in tournament. The team finishing eighth needs just one victory; the team finishing ninth would need two to reach the postseason as the No. 8 seed.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s really important for us&rdquo; to get to the 8 seed, VanVleet said. &ldquo;For the last couple of weeks it has been really simple for us &mdash; we&rsquo;re in a win-every-game mode. There&rsquo;s not much to think about. You have to go out and perform and play your best and try to take care of business. We are just trying to play our best basketball at this time of the year.&rdquo;
VanVleet, who now owns the franchise single-game records for points and assists, made sure the Raptors were on top of their game.
The Raptors outscored the Hornets 90-44 in the paint in the opener of a two-game series, which helped offset 8-of-28 shooting from 3-point range. The teams meet again Tuesday night in Charlotte.
&ldquo;He was really good,&rdquo; Toronto coach Nick Nurse said of VanVleet. &ldquo;He got the ball a lot of places where it needed to go.&rdquo;
Hornets coach Steve Clifford said VanVleet was &ldquo;high intensity&rdquo; from the beginning and his team couldn&rsquo;t stop him on the pick-and-roll.
&ldquo;He just crushed us,&rdquo; Clifford said. &ldquo;Every pick-and-roll, it didn&rsquo;t matter, angle, high side, he either scored, got fouled or they got a wide-open shot. So we&rsquo;ve mixed up the schemes but none of that worked.&rdquo;
Svi Mykhailiuk scored a career-high 26 points and Mark Williams added 15 points and 12 rebounds for the injury-riddled Hornets, who played without all five of the team&rsquo;s anticipated starters this season. James Bouknight added 21 points and Theo Maledon had 14 assists.
The Raptors dominated from the start.
VanVleet made his impact felt early, scoring 11 points and assisting on six other baskets in the first quarter as Toronto built a 35-25 lead.
The Hornets (26-53) had nine turnovers in the first half leading to 18 Raptors points, the highlight coming when Scottie Barnes came up with a steal and provided an alley-oop lob to a cutting Precious Achiuwa for a fast-break dunk.
Charlotte cut Toronto&rsquo;s 18-point lead to 10 midway through the fourth after JT Thor knocked down a corner 3 but Siakam helped the Raptors push the lead safely back to 16 with eight points down the stretch.
&ldquo;I thought we played really disciplined offensively,&rdquo; Nurse said. &ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t make a lot of really good shots. We had some really nice two passes to corner 3s and we didn&rsquo;t make one of them. We&rsquo;re still doing the right things and getting it where it was supposed to go, and that&rsquo;s all you can do.&rdquo;
&nbsp;

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Pascal Siakam scored 36 points, Fred VanVleet added 20 points and a career-high 20 assists and the Toronto Raptors beat the undermanned Charlotte Hornets 128-108 on Sunday to secure a spot in the NBA play-in tournament.
O.G. Anunoby added 23 points for the Raptors, who clinched after the Brooklyn Nets beat the Utah Jazz later in the day.
The Raptors (39-39) are now focused on seeding with four games remaining.
They entered the day tied with the Atlanta Hawks for eighth place in the Eastern Conference and looking to move up in the standings to secure a better chance of advancing out of the play-in tournament. The team finishing eighth needs just one victory; the team finishing ninth would need two to reach the postseason as the No. 8 seed.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s really important for us&rdquo; to get to the 8 seed, VanVleet said. &ldquo;For the last couple of weeks it has been really simple for us &mdash; we&rsquo;re in a win-every-game mode. There&rsquo;s not much to think about. You have to go out and perform and play your best and try to take care of business. We are just trying to play our best basketball at this time of the year.&rdquo;
VanVleet, who now owns the franchise single-game records for points and assists, made sure the Raptors were on top of their game.
The Raptors outscored the Hornets 90-44 in the paint in the opener of a two-game series, which helped offset 8-of-28 shooting from 3-point range. The teams meet again Tuesday night in Charlotte.
&ldquo;He was really good,&rdquo; Toronto coach Nick Nurse said of VanVleet. &ldquo;He got the ball a lot of places where it needed to go.&rdquo;
Hornets coach Steve Clifford said VanVleet was &ldquo;high intensity&rdquo; from the beginning and his team couldn&rsquo;t stop him on the pick-and-roll.
&ldquo;He just crushed us,&rdquo; Clifford said. &ldquo;Every pick-and-roll, it didn&rsquo;t matter, angle, high side, he either scored, got fouled or they got a wide-open shot. So we&rsquo;ve mixed up the schemes but none of that worked.&rdquo;
Svi Mykhailiuk scored a career-high 26 points and Mark Williams added 15 points and 12 rebounds for the injury-riddled Hornets, who played without all five of the team&rsquo;s anticipated starters this season. James Bouknight added 21 points and Theo Maledon had 14 assists.
The Raptors dominated from the start.
VanVleet made his impact felt early, scoring 11 points and assisting on six other baskets in the first quarter as Toronto built a 35-25 lead.
The Hornets (26-53) had nine turnovers in the first half leading to 18 Raptors points, the highlight coming when Scottie Barnes came up with a steal and provided an alley-oop lob to a cutting Precious Achiuwa for a fast-break dunk.
Charlotte cut Toronto&rsquo;s 18-point lead to 10 midway through the fourth after JT Thor knocked down a corner 3 but Siakam helped the Raptors push the lead safely back to 16 with eight points down the stretch.
&ldquo;I thought we played really disciplined offensively,&rdquo; Nurse said. &ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t make a lot of really good shots. We had some really nice two passes to corner 3s and we didn&rsquo;t make one of them. We&rsquo;re still doing the right things and getting it where it was supposed to go, and that&rsquo;s all you can do.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Raptors: Anunoby suffered what Nurse described as a &ldquo;mild, mild sprain&rdquo; of his ankle. ... Turned 18 Charlotte turnovers into 28 points. ... Bench was outscored 40-21.
Hornets: Were missing a number of key players including all three point guards in LaMelo Ball, Terry Rozier and Dennis Smith Jr., along with Gordon Hayward, P.J. Washington and Cody Martin. ... Bouknight now has 11 3-pointers in the last two games.

The Raptors beat the undermanned Hornets 128-108 on Sunday to secure a spot in the NBA play-in tournament.

Raptors beat Hornets to clinch play-in tournament spot

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Kevin Durant made his Phoenix Suns debut Wednesday night against the Charlotte Hornets.
Durant, wearing No. 35, was greeted by a loud ovation as he was introduced at Spectrum Center and fans held up cell phones stretching to get video of him in his white jersey.
He missed a foul line jumper on his team&rsquo;s first possession, but scored his first basket with the Suns a few moments later on a driving left-handed layup. Durant followed with a block on Hornets rookie center Mark Williams and then knocked down a 3-pointer from the left wing as the Suns bolted to a 9-0 lead.
He is expected to be on a minutes restriction as he makes his way back from a knee injury that has held him out since Jan. 8.
The 13-time All-Star was acquired from the Brooklyn Nets in a&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/brooklyn-nets-phoenix-suns-nba-sports-basketball-3932b34f477549895cce131490bec86d">blockbuster deal</a>&nbsp;in which the Suns parted ways with Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder and four first-round picks.
&nbsp;

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Kevin Durant made his Phoenix Suns debut Wednesday night against the Charlotte Hornets.
Durant, wearing No. 35, was greeted by a loud ovation as he was introduced at Spectrum Center and fans held up cell phones stretching to get video of him in his white jersey.
He missed a foul line jumper on his team&rsquo;s first possession, but scored his first basket with the Suns a few moments later on a driving left-handed layup. Durant followed with a block on Hornets rookie center Mark Williams and then knocked down a 3-pointer from the left wing as the Suns bolted to a 9-0 lead.
He is expected to be on a minutes restriction as he makes his way back from a knee injury that has held him out since Jan. 8.
The 13-time All-Star was acquired from the Brooklyn Nets in a&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/brooklyn-nets-phoenix-suns-nba-sports-basketball-3932b34f477549895cce131490bec86d" target="_blank" rel="noopener">blockbuster deal</a>&nbsp;in which the Suns parted ways with Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder and four first-round picks.
&nbsp;

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Kevin Durant made his Phoenix Suns debut Wednesday night against the Charlotte Hornets.
Durant, wearing No. 35, was greeted by a loud ovation as he was introduced at Spectrum Center and fans held up cell phones stretching to get video of him in his white jersey.
He missed a foul line jumper on his team&rsquo;s first possession, but scored his first basket with the Suns a few moments later on a driving left-handed layup. Durant followed with a block on Hornets rookie center Mark Williams and then knocked down a 3-pointer from the left wing as the Suns bolted to a 9-0 lead.
He is expected to be on a minutes restriction as he makes his way back from a knee injury that has held him out since Jan. 8.
The 13-time All-Star was acquired from the Brooklyn Nets in a&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/brooklyn-nets-phoenix-suns-nba-sports-basketball-3932b34f477549895cce131490bec86d" target="_blank" rel="noopener">blockbuster deal</a>&nbsp;in which the Suns parted ways with Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder and four first-round picks.
Like Duran&rsquo;ts revious stops in Seattle, Oklahoma City, Golden State and Brooklyn, the expectations are high &mdash; and there is a different level of excitement with his arrival.
&ldquo;You feel it,&rdquo; Suns coach Monty Williams said. &ldquo;You feel it at the (team) hotel when people are lined up outside. You feel it in the gym. ... Yeah, I feel it. I learned a long time ago that pressure and expectations are a privilege and you have to embrace those things because that is where the good stuff is.&rdquo;
&nbsp;

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Kevin Durant made his Phoenix Suns debut Wednesday night against the Charlotte Hornets.
Durant, wearing No. 35, was greeted by a loud ovation as he was introduced at Spectrum Center and fans held up cell phones stretching to get video of him in his white jersey.
He missed a foul line jumper on his team&rsquo;s first possession, but scored his first basket with the Suns a few moments later on a driving left-handed layup. Durant followed with a block on Hornets rookie center Mark Williams and then knocked down a 3-pointer from the left wing as the Suns bolted to a 9-0 lead.
He is expected to be on a minutes restriction as he makes his way back from a knee injury that has held him out since Jan. 8.
The 13-time All-Star was acquired from the Brooklyn Nets in a&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/brooklyn-nets-phoenix-suns-nba-sports-basketball-3932b34f477549895cce131490bec86d" target="_blank" rel="noopener">blockbuster deal</a>&nbsp;in which the Suns parted ways with Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder and four first-round picks.
Like Duran&rsquo;ts revious stops in Seattle, Oklahoma City, Golden State and Brooklyn, the expectations are high &mdash; and there is a different level of excitement with his arrival.
&ldquo;You feel it,&rdquo; Suns coach Monty Williams said. &ldquo;You feel it at the (team) hotel when people are lined up outside. You feel it in the gym. ... Yeah, I feel it. I learned a long time ago that pressure and expectations are a privilege and you have to embrace those things because that is where the good stuff is.&rdquo;
Williams admitted that anything less than an NBA championship this season would feel like a disappointment, but added that is true of any of the league&rsquo;s top teams.
Durant&rsquo;s has been through plenty during his 15-year NBA career, but this is the first time he&rsquo;s joined a new team midway through the season.
&ldquo;I have a lot of experience in the league, so the transition was a little easier than it would have been 10 years ago,&rdquo; Durant said following practice Tuesday. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a quick turnaround and everything happened so fast. But the game is the constant thing.&rdquo;
The Suns hope Durant&rsquo;s addition gets them over the hump after losing to the Milwaukee Bucks in six games in the 2021 NBA Finals.
The Suns were in fourth place in the Western Conference at 33-29 entering play Wednesday &mdash; a game ahead of another of his former teams, the Warriors, with 20 remaining. Phoenix was 10 1/2 games behind the West-leading Denver Nuggets.
&nbsp;

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Kevin Durant made his Phoenix Suns debut Wednesday night against the Charlotte Hornets.
Durant, wearing No. 35, was greeted by a loud ovation as he was introduced at Spectrum Center and fans held up cell phones stretching to get video of him in his white jersey.
He missed a foul line jumper on his team&rsquo;s first possession, but scored his first basket with the Suns a few moments later on a driving left-handed layup. Durant followed with a block on Hornets rookie center Mark Williams and then knocked down a 3-pointer from the left wing as the Suns bolted to a 9-0 lead.
He is expected to be on a minutes restriction as he makes his way back from a knee injury that has held him out since Jan. 8.
The 13-time All-Star was acquired from the Brooklyn Nets in a&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/brooklyn-nets-phoenix-suns-nba-sports-basketball-3932b34f477549895cce131490bec86d" target="_blank" rel="noopener">blockbuster deal</a>&nbsp;in which the Suns parted ways with Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder and four first-round picks.
Like Duran&rsquo;ts revious stops in Seattle, Oklahoma City, Golden State and Brooklyn, the expectations are high &mdash; and there is a different level of excitement with his arrival.
&ldquo;You feel it,&rdquo; Suns coach Monty Williams said. &ldquo;You feel it at the (team) hotel when people are lined up outside. You feel it in the gym. ... Yeah, I feel it. I learned a long time ago that pressure and expectations are a privilege and you have to embrace those things because that is where the good stuff is.&rdquo;
Williams admitted that anything less than an NBA championship this season would feel like a disappointment, but added that is true of any of the league&rsquo;s top teams.
Durant&rsquo;s has been through plenty during his 15-year NBA career, but this is the first time he&rsquo;s joined a new team midway through the season.
&ldquo;I have a lot of experience in the league, so the transition was a little easier than it would have been 10 years ago,&rdquo; Durant said following practice Tuesday. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a quick turnaround and everything happened so fast. But the game is the constant thing.&rdquo;
The Suns hope Durant&rsquo;s addition gets them over the hump after losing to the Milwaukee Bucks in six games in the 2021 NBA Finals.
The Suns were in fourth place in the Western Conference at 33-29 entering play Wednesday &mdash; a game ahead of another of his former teams, the Warriors, with 20 remaining. Phoenix was 10 1/2 games behind the West-leading Denver Nuggets.
Williams expects Durant will have a major positive impact on his new teammates, which include Chris Paul, Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s more than a generational talent, he&rsquo;s a historic talent,&rdquo; Williams said. &ldquo;From that standpoint you can use your imagination, just from a scoring standpoint. But I have tried to have an open mind about it not to box him in and say &lsquo;he&rsquo;s going to be this, this and that.&rsquo; So I&rsquo;m looking forward to it as much as everybody else is.&rdquo;
Durant remains at the top of his game, averaging 29 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists while shooting 55.9% from the field and 37.6% from 3-point range this season.
Hornets coach Steve Clifford said the Suns are going to be a tough out in the playoffs.
&nbsp;

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Kevin Durant made his Phoenix Suns debut Wednesday night against the Charlotte Hornets.
Durant, wearing No. 35, was greeted by a loud ovation as he was introduced at Spectrum Center and fans held up cell phones stretching to get video of him in his white jersey.
He missed a foul line jumper on his team&rsquo;s first possession, but scored his first basket with the Suns a few moments later on a driving left-handed layup. Durant followed with a block on Hornets rookie center Mark Williams and then knocked down a 3-pointer from the left wing as the Suns bolted to a 9-0 lead.
He is expected to be on a minutes restriction as he makes his way back from a knee injury that has held him out since Jan. 8.
The 13-time All-Star was acquired from the Brooklyn Nets in a&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/brooklyn-nets-phoenix-suns-nba-sports-basketball-3932b34f477549895cce131490bec86d" target="_blank" rel="noopener">blockbuster deal</a>&nbsp;in which the Suns parted ways with Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder and four first-round picks.
Like Duran&rsquo;ts revious stops in Seattle, Oklahoma City, Golden State and Brooklyn, the expectations are high &mdash; and there is a different level of excitement with his arrival.
&ldquo;You feel it,&rdquo; Suns coach Monty Williams said. &ldquo;You feel it at the (team) hotel when people are lined up outside. You feel it in the gym. ... Yeah, I feel it. I learned a long time ago that pressure and expectations are a privilege and you have to embrace those things because that is where the good stuff is.&rdquo;
Williams admitted that anything less than an NBA championship this season would feel like a disappointment, but added that is true of any of the league&rsquo;s top teams.
Durant&rsquo;s has been through plenty during his 15-year NBA career, but this is the first time he&rsquo;s joined a new team midway through the season.
&ldquo;I have a lot of experience in the league, so the transition was a little easier than it would have been 10 years ago,&rdquo; Durant said following practice Tuesday. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a quick turnaround and everything happened so fast. But the game is the constant thing.&rdquo;
The Suns hope Durant&rsquo;s addition gets them over the hump after losing to the Milwaukee Bucks in six games in the 2021 NBA Finals.
The Suns were in fourth place in the Western Conference at 33-29 entering play Wednesday &mdash; a game ahead of another of his former teams, the Warriors, with 20 remaining. Phoenix was 10 1/2 games behind the West-leading Denver Nuggets.
Williams expects Durant will have a major positive impact on his new teammates, which include Chris Paul, Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s more than a generational talent, he&rsquo;s a historic talent,&rdquo; Williams said. &ldquo;From that standpoint you can use your imagination, just from a scoring standpoint. But I have tried to have an open mind about it not to box him in and say &lsquo;he&rsquo;s going to be this, this and that.&rsquo; So I&rsquo;m looking forward to it as much as everybody else is.&rdquo;
Durant remains at the top of his game, averaging 29 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists while shooting 55.9% from the field and 37.6% from 3-point range this season.
Hornets coach Steve Clifford said the Suns are going to be a tough out in the playoffs.
&ldquo;They now have the number one thing that you have to have to win close games in the playoffs &ndash; they have two guys who can draw help without the aid of the pick-and-roll,&rdquo; Clifford said. &ldquo;So if you just give Booker the ball, you have to help. You can&rsquo;t guard him one-on-one. If you give Kevin the ball, nobody can guard him one-on-one. Nobody. Then you throw in the Chris Paul pick-and-roll piece with Ayton, the way he&rsquo;s grown.
&ldquo;Playoff basketball is going to come down to, and it&rsquo;s always been the same thing, how many guys on the court can get a shot on their own, and then what can they do when they draw help? And they&rsquo;re two of the best guys in the league. It certainly puts them in the conversation.&rdquo;
Durant has spent the past couple of weeks getting to know his new teammates on a personal level, as well as how they operate on the floor while mostly watching from the sideline as he recovers from a sprained knee that has kept him out since Jan. 8.
He said his knee has been pain-free for the last couple of weeks.
&nbsp;

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Kevin Durant made his Phoenix Suns debut Wednesday night against the Charlotte Hornets.
Durant, wearing No. 35, was greeted by a loud ovation as he was introduced at Spectrum Center and fans held up cell phones stretching to get video of him in his white jersey.
He missed a foul line jumper on his team&rsquo;s first possession, but scored his first basket with the Suns a few moments later on a driving left-handed layup. Durant followed with a block on Hornets rookie center Mark Williams and then knocked down a 3-pointer from the left wing as the Suns bolted to a 9-0 lead.
He is expected to be on a minutes restriction as he makes his way back from a knee injury that has held him out since Jan. 8.
The 13-time All-Star was acquired from the Brooklyn Nets in a&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/brooklyn-nets-phoenix-suns-nba-sports-basketball-3932b34f477549895cce131490bec86d" target="_blank" rel="noopener">blockbuster deal</a>&nbsp;in which the Suns parted ways with Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder and four first-round picks.
Like Duran&rsquo;ts revious stops in Seattle, Oklahoma City, Golden State and Brooklyn, the expectations are high &mdash; and there is a different level of excitement with his arrival.
&ldquo;You feel it,&rdquo; Suns coach Monty Williams said. &ldquo;You feel it at the (team) hotel when people are lined up outside. You feel it in the gym. ... Yeah, I feel it. I learned a long time ago that pressure and expectations are a privilege and you have to embrace those things because that is where the good stuff is.&rdquo;
Williams admitted that anything less than an NBA championship this season would feel like a disappointment, but added that is true of any of the league&rsquo;s top teams.
Durant&rsquo;s has been through plenty during his 15-year NBA career, but this is the first time he&rsquo;s joined a new team midway through the season.
&ldquo;I have a lot of experience in the league, so the transition was a little easier than it would have been 10 years ago,&rdquo; Durant said following practice Tuesday. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a quick turnaround and everything happened so fast. But the game is the constant thing.&rdquo;
The Suns hope Durant&rsquo;s addition gets them over the hump after losing to the Milwaukee Bucks in six games in the 2021 NBA Finals.
The Suns were in fourth place in the Western Conference at 33-29 entering play Wednesday &mdash; a game ahead of another of his former teams, the Warriors, with 20 remaining. Phoenix was 10 1/2 games behind the West-leading Denver Nuggets.
Williams expects Durant will have a major positive impact on his new teammates, which include Chris Paul, Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s more than a generational talent, he&rsquo;s a historic talent,&rdquo; Williams said. &ldquo;From that standpoint you can use your imagination, just from a scoring standpoint. But I have tried to have an open mind about it not to box him in and say &lsquo;he&rsquo;s going to be this, this and that.&rsquo; So I&rsquo;m looking forward to it as much as everybody else is.&rdquo;
Durant remains at the top of his game, averaging 29 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists while shooting 55.9% from the field and 37.6% from 3-point range this season.
Hornets coach Steve Clifford said the Suns are going to be a tough out in the playoffs.
&ldquo;They now have the number one thing that you have to have to win close games in the playoffs &ndash; they have two guys who can draw help without the aid of the pick-and-roll,&rdquo; Clifford said. &ldquo;So if you just give Booker the ball, you have to help. You can&rsquo;t guard him one-on-one. If you give Kevin the ball, nobody can guard him one-on-one. Nobody. Then you throw in the Chris Paul pick-and-roll piece with Ayton, the way he&rsquo;s grown.
&ldquo;Playoff basketball is going to come down to, and it&rsquo;s always been the same thing, how many guys on the court can get a shot on their own, and then what can they do when they draw help? And they&rsquo;re two of the best guys in the league. It certainly puts them in the conversation.&rdquo;
Durant has spent the past couple of weeks getting to know his new teammates on a personal level, as well as how they operate on the floor while mostly watching from the sideline as he recovers from a sprained knee that has kept him out since Jan. 8.
He said his knee has been pain-free for the last couple of weeks.
He&rsquo;s been trying to visualize where he fits into the Suns&rsquo; system and how he can have the biggest impact while learning the team&rsquo;s plays.
&ldquo;I know my versatility can help me a lot of different areas on both ends of the court,&rdquo; Durant said. &ldquo;Being able to shoot the ball from different areas of the floor can help me, even if I don&rsquo;t know every small subtlety in a play I can still try to figure out just by movement and stuff.&rdquo;

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Kevin Durant made his Phoenix Suns debut Wednesday night against the Charlotte Hornets. He finished with 23 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks, while shooting 10-of-15 from the field (including 2-of-4 from three-point range).
Durant, wearing No. 35, was greeted by a loud ovation as he was introduced at Spectrum Center and fans held up cell phones stretching to get video of him in his white jersey.
He missed a foul line jumper on his team&rsquo;s first possession, but scored his first basket with the Suns a few moments later on a driving left-handed layup. Durant followed with a block on Hornets rookie center Mark Williams and then knocked down a 3-pointer from the left wing as the Suns bolted to a 9-0 lead.
He is expected to be on a minutes restriction as he makes his way back from a knee injury that has held him out since Jan. 8.
The 13-time All-Star was acquired from the Brooklyn Nets in a&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/brooklyn-nets-phoenix-suns-nba-sports-basketball-3932b34f477549895cce131490bec86d" target="_blank" rel="noopener">blockbuster deal</a>&nbsp;in which the Suns parted ways with Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder and four first-round picks.
Like Duran&rsquo;ts revious stops in Seattle, Oklahoma City, Golden State and Brooklyn, the expectations are high &mdash; and there is a different level of excitement with his arrival.
&ldquo;You feel it,&rdquo; Suns coach Monty Williams said. &ldquo;You feel it at the (team) hotel when people are lined up outside. You feel it in the gym. ... Yeah, I feel it. I learned a long time ago that pressure and expectations are a privilege and you have to embrace those things because that is where the good stuff is.&rdquo;
Williams admitted that anything less than an NBA championship this season would feel like a disappointment, but added that is true of any of the league&rsquo;s top teams.
Durant&rsquo;s has been through plenty during his 15-year NBA career, but this is the first time he&rsquo;s joined a new team midway through the season.
&ldquo;I have a lot of experience in the league, so the transition was a little easier than it would have been 10 years ago,&rdquo; Durant said following practice Tuesday. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a quick turnaround and everything happened so fast. But the game is the constant thing.&rdquo;
The Suns hope Durant&rsquo;s addition gets them over the hump after losing to the Milwaukee Bucks in six games in the 2021 NBA Finals.
The Suns were in fourth place in the Western Conference at 33-29 entering play Wednesday &mdash; a game ahead of another of his former teams, the Warriors, with 20 remaining. Phoenix was 10 1/2 games behind the West-leading Denver Nuggets.
Williams expects Durant will have a major positive impact on his new teammates, which include Chris Paul, Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s more than a generational talent, he&rsquo;s a historic talent,&rdquo; Williams said. &ldquo;From that standpoint you can use your imagination, just from a scoring standpoint. But I have tried to have an open mind about it not to box him in and say &lsquo;he&rsquo;s going to be this, this and that.&rsquo; So I&rsquo;m looking forward to it as much as everybody else is.&rdquo;
Durant remains at the top of his game, averaging 29 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists while shooting 55.9% from the field and 37.6% from 3-point range this season.
Hornets coach Steve Clifford said the Suns are going to be a tough out in the playoffs.
&ldquo;They now have the number one thing that you have to have to win close games in the playoffs &ndash; they have two guys who can draw help without the aid of the pick-and-roll,&rdquo; Clifford said. &ldquo;So if you just give Booker the ball, you have to help. You can&rsquo;t guard him one-on-one. If you give Kevin the ball, nobody can guard him one-on-one. Nobody. Then you throw in the Chris Paul pick-and-roll piece with Ayton, the way he&rsquo;s grown.
&ldquo;Playoff basketball is going to come down to, and it&rsquo;s always been the same thing, how many guys on the court can get a shot on their own, and then what can they do when they draw help? And they&rsquo;re two of the best guys in the league. It certainly puts them in the conversation.&rdquo;
Durant has spent the past couple of weeks getting to know his new teammates on a personal level, as well as how they operate on the floor while mostly watching from the sideline as he recovers from a sprained knee that has kept him out since Jan. 8.
He said his knee has been pain-free for the last couple of weeks.
He&rsquo;s been trying to visualize where he fits into the Suns&rsquo; system and how he can have the biggest impact while learning the team&rsquo;s plays.
&ldquo;I know my versatility can help me a lot of different areas on both ends of the court,&rdquo; Durant said. &ldquo;Being able to shoot the ball from different areas of the floor can help me, even if I don&rsquo;t know every small subtlety in a play I can still try to figure out just by movement and stuff.&rdquo;

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Kevin Durant made his Phoenix Suns debut Wednesday night against the Charlotte Hornets.&nbsp;
Durant, wearing No. 35, was greeted by a loud ovation as he was introduced at Spectrum Center and fans held up cell phones stretching to get video of him in his white jersey.
He missed a foul line jumper on his team&rsquo;s first possession, but scored his first basket with the Suns a few moments later on a driving left-handed layup. Durant followed with a block on Hornets rookie center Mark Williams and then knocked down a 3-pointer from the left wing as the Suns bolted to a 9-0 lead.
Durant finished with 23 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks, while shooting 10-of-15 from the field (including 2-of-4 from three-point range), as the Suns beat the Hornets 105-91.
He is expected to be on a minutes restriction as he makes his way back from a knee injury that has held him out since Jan. 8.
The 13-time All-Star was acquired from the Brooklyn Nets in a&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/brooklyn-nets-phoenix-suns-nba-sports-basketball-3932b34f477549895cce131490bec86d" target="_blank" rel="noopener">blockbuster deal</a>&nbsp;in which the Suns parted ways with Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder and four first-round picks.
Like Duran&rsquo;ts revious stops in Seattle, Oklahoma City, Golden State and Brooklyn, the expectations are high &mdash; and there is a different level of excitement with his arrival.
&ldquo;You feel it,&rdquo; Suns coach Monty Williams said. &ldquo;You feel it at the (team) hotel when people are lined up outside. You feel it in the gym. ... Yeah, I feel it. I learned a long time ago that pressure and expectations are a privilege and you have to embrace those things because that is where the good stuff is.&rdquo;
Williams admitted that anything less than an NBA championship this season would feel like a disappointment, but added that is true of any of the league&rsquo;s top teams.
Durant&rsquo;s has been through plenty during his 15-year NBA career, but this is the first time he&rsquo;s joined a new team midway through the season.
&ldquo;I have a lot of experience in the league, so the transition was a little easier than it would have been 10 years ago,&rdquo; Durant said following practice Tuesday. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a quick turnaround and everything happened so fast. But the game is the constant thing.&rdquo;
The Suns hope Durant&rsquo;s addition gets them over the hump after losing to the Milwaukee Bucks in six games in the 2021 NBA Finals.
The Suns were in fourth place in the Western Conference at 33-29 entering play Wednesday &mdash; a game ahead of another of his former teams, the Warriors, with 20 remaining. Phoenix was 10 1/2 games behind the West-leading Denver Nuggets.
Williams expects Durant will have a major positive impact on his new teammates, which include Chris Paul, Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s more than a generational talent, he&rsquo;s a historic talent,&rdquo; Williams said. &ldquo;From that standpoint you can use your imagination, just from a scoring standpoint. But I have tried to have an open mind about it not to box him in and say &lsquo;he&rsquo;s going to be this, this and that.&rsquo; So I&rsquo;m looking forward to it as much as everybody else is.&rdquo;
Durant remains at the top of his game, averaging 29 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists while shooting 55.9% from the field and 37.6% from 3-point range this season.
Hornets coach Steve Clifford said the Suns are going to be a tough out in the playoffs.
&ldquo;They now have the number one thing that you have to have to win close games in the playoffs &ndash; they have two guys who can draw help without the aid of the pick-and-roll,&rdquo; Clifford said. &ldquo;So if you just give Booker the ball, you have to help. You can&rsquo;t guard him one-on-one. If you give Kevin the ball, nobody can guard him one-on-one. Nobody. Then you throw in the Chris Paul pick-and-roll piece with Ayton, the way he&rsquo;s grown.
&ldquo;Playoff basketball is going to come down to, and it&rsquo;s always been the same thing, how many guys on the court can get a shot on their own, and then what can they do when they draw help? And they&rsquo;re two of the best guys in the league. It certainly puts them in the conversation.&rdquo;
Durant has spent the past couple of weeks getting to know his new teammates on a personal level, as well as how they operate on the floor while mostly watching from the sideline as he recovers from a sprained knee that has kept him out since Jan. 8.
He said his knee has been pain-free for the last couple of weeks.
He&rsquo;s been trying to visualize where he fits into the Suns&rsquo; system and how he can have the biggest impact while learning the team&rsquo;s plays.
&ldquo;I know my versatility can help me a lot of different areas on both ends of the court,&rdquo; Durant said. &ldquo;Being able to shoot the ball from different areas of the floor can help me, even if I don&rsquo;t know every small subtlety in a play I can still try to figure out just by movement and stuff.&rdquo;

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Kevin Durant made his Phoenix Suns debut Wednesday night against the Charlotte Hornets.&nbsp;
Durant, wearing No. 35, was greeted by a loud ovation as he was introduced at Spectrum Center and fans held up cell phones stretching to get video of him in his white jersey.
He missed a foul line jumper on his team&rsquo;s first possession, but scored his first basket with the Suns a few moments later on a driving left-handed layup. Durant followed with a block on Hornets rookie center Mark Williams and then knocked down a 3-pointer from the left wing as the Suns bolted to a 9-0 lead.
Durant finished with 23 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks, while shooting 10-of-15 from the field (including 2-of-4 from three-point range), as the Suns beat the Hornets 105-91.
He is expected to be on a minutes restriction as he makes his way back from a knee injury that has held him out since Jan. 8.
The 13-time All-Star was acquired from the Brooklyn Nets in a&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/brooklyn-nets-phoenix-suns-nba-sports-basketball-3932b34f477549895cce131490bec86d" target="_blank" rel="noopener">blockbuster deal</a>&nbsp;in which the Suns parted ways with Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder and four first-round picks.
Like Durant's previous stops in Seattle, Oklahoma City, Golden State and Brooklyn, the expectations are high &mdash; and there is a different level of excitement with his arrival.
&ldquo;You feel it,&rdquo; Suns coach Monty Williams said. &ldquo;You feel it at the (team) hotel when people are lined up outside. You feel it in the gym. ... Yeah, I feel it. I learned a long time ago that pressure and expectations are a privilege and you have to embrace those things because that is where the good stuff is.&rdquo;
Williams admitted that anything less than an NBA championship this season would feel like a disappointment, but added that is true of any of the league&rsquo;s top teams.
Durant&rsquo;s has been through plenty during his 15-year NBA career, but this is the first time he&rsquo;s joined a new team midway through the season.
&ldquo;I have a lot of experience in the league, so the transition was a little easier than it would have been 10 years ago,&rdquo; Durant said following practice Tuesday. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a quick turnaround and everything happened so fast. But the game is the constant thing.&rdquo;
The Suns hope Durant&rsquo;s addition gets them over the hump after losing to the Milwaukee Bucks in six games in the 2021 NBA Finals.
The Suns were in fourth place in the Western Conference at 33-29 entering play Wednesday &mdash; a game ahead of another of his former teams, the Warriors, with 20 remaining. Phoenix was 10 1/2 games behind the West-leading Denver Nuggets.
Williams expects Durant will have a major positive impact on his new teammates, which include Chris Paul, Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s more than a generational talent, he&rsquo;s a historic talent,&rdquo; Williams said. &ldquo;From that standpoint you can use your imagination, just from a scoring standpoint. But I have tried to have an open mind about it not to box him in and say &lsquo;he&rsquo;s going to be this, this and that.&rsquo; So I&rsquo;m looking forward to it as much as everybody else is.&rdquo;
Durant remains at the top of his game, averaging 29 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists while shooting 55.9% from the field and 37.6% from 3-point range this season.
Hornets coach Steve Clifford said the Suns are going to be a tough out in the playoffs.
&ldquo;They now have the number one thing that you have to have to win close games in the playoffs &ndash; they have two guys who can draw help without the aid of the pick-and-roll,&rdquo; Clifford said. &ldquo;So if you just give Booker the ball, you have to help. You can&rsquo;t guard him one-on-one. If you give Kevin the ball, nobody can guard him one-on-one. Nobody. Then you throw in the Chris Paul pick-and-roll piece with Ayton, the way he&rsquo;s grown.
&ldquo;Playoff basketball is going to come down to, and it&rsquo;s always been the same thing, how many guys on the court can get a shot on their own, and then what can they do when they draw help? And they&rsquo;re two of the best guys in the league. It certainly puts them in the conversation.&rdquo;
Durant has spent the past couple of weeks getting to know his new teammates on a personal level, as well as how they operate on the floor while mostly watching from the sideline as he recovers from a sprained knee that has kept him out since Jan. 8.
He said his knee has been pain-free for the last couple of weeks.
He&rsquo;s been trying to visualize where he fits into the Suns&rsquo; system and how he can have the biggest impact while learning the team&rsquo;s plays.
&ldquo;I know my versatility can help me a lot of different areas on both ends of the court,&rdquo; Durant said. &ldquo;Being able to shoot the ball from different areas of the floor can help me, even if I don&rsquo;t know every small subtlety in a play I can still try to figure out just by movement and stuff.&rdquo;

Kevin Durant made his Phoenix Suns debut on Wednesday, scoring 23 points and leading the team to victory over the Charlotte Hornets.

Kevin Durant makes Phoenix Suns debut in return from knee injury

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Kevin Durant has been through quite a bit during his 15-year NBA career &mdash; but joining a new team midway through the season is a new one for the 13-time All-Star.
The 34-year-old Durant doesn&rsquo;t seem all that worried.
Durant makes his highly anticipated Phoenix Suns debut on Wednesday night against the Charlotte Hornets. It comes 20 days after Phoenix&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/brooklyn-nets-phoenix-suns-nba-sports-basketball-3932b34f477549895cce131490bec86d">completed a blockbuster deal</a>&nbsp;that sent Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson and four first-round picks to the Brooklyn Nets, delivering shockwaves throughout the basketball world.
This is Durant&rsquo;s fourth different team in seven seasons, but he doesn&rsquo;t feel like joining the Suns midseason will be a huge adjustment.
&ldquo;I have a lot of experience in the league, so the transition was a little easier than it would have been 10 years ago,&rdquo; Durant said following practice Tuesday. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a quick turnaround and everything happened so fast. But the game is the constant thing.&rdquo;
&nbsp;

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Kevin Durant has been through quite a bit during his 15-year NBA career &mdash; but joining a new team midway through the season is a new one for the 13-time All-Star.
The 34-year-old Durant doesn&rsquo;t seem all that worried.
Durant makes his highly anticipated Phoenix Suns debut on Wednesday night against the Charlotte Hornets. It comes 20 days after Phoenix&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/brooklyn-nets-phoenix-suns-nba-sports-basketball-3932b34f477549895cce131490bec86d" target="_blank" rel="noopener">completed a blockbuster deal</a>&nbsp;that sent Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson and four first-round picks to the Brooklyn Nets, delivering shockwaves throughout the basketball world.
This is Durant&rsquo;s fourth different team in seven seasons, but he doesn&rsquo;t feel like joining the Suns midseason will be a huge adjustment.
&ldquo;I have a lot of experience in the league, so the transition was a little easier than it would have been 10 years ago,&rdquo; Durant said following practice Tuesday. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a quick turnaround and everything happened so fast. But the game is the constant thing.&rdquo;
&nbsp;

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Kevin Durant has been through quite a bit during his 15-year NBA career &mdash; but joining a new team midway through the season is a new one for the 13-time All-Star.
The 34-year-old Durant doesn&rsquo;t seem all that worried.
Durant makes his highly anticipated Phoenix Suns debut on Wednesday night against the Charlotte Hornets. It comes 20 days after Phoenix&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/brooklyn-nets-phoenix-suns-nba-sports-basketball-3932b34f477549895cce131490bec86d" target="_blank" rel="noopener">completed a blockbuster deal</a>&nbsp;that sent Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson and four first-round picks to the Brooklyn Nets, delivering shockwaves throughout the basketball world.
This is Durant&rsquo;s fourth different team in seven seasons, but he doesn&rsquo;t feel like joining the Suns midseason will be a huge adjustment.
&ldquo;I have a lot of experience in the league, so the transition was a little easier than it would have been 10 years ago,&rdquo; Durant said following practice Tuesday. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a quick turnaround and everything happened so fast. But the game is the constant thing.&rdquo;
The Suns are hoping that Durant&rsquo;s addition gets them over the hump after losing to the Milwaukee Bucks in six games in the 2021 NBA Finals.
The Suns were in fourth place in the Western Conference at 33-29 entering Wednesday night&rsquo;s game &mdash; one game ahead of another of his former teams, the Golden State Warriors, with 20 remaining. Phoenix was 10 1/2 games behind the West-leading Denver Nuggets.
&nbsp;

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Kevin Durant has been through quite a bit during his 15-year NBA career &mdash; but joining a new team midway through the season is a new one for the 13-time All-Star.
The 34-year-old Durant doesn&rsquo;t seem all that worried.
Durant makes his highly anticipated Phoenix Suns debut on Wednesday night against the Charlotte Hornets. It comes 20 days after Phoenix&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/brooklyn-nets-phoenix-suns-nba-sports-basketball-3932b34f477549895cce131490bec86d" target="_blank" rel="noopener">completed a blockbuster deal</a>&nbsp;that sent Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson and four first-round picks to the Brooklyn Nets, delivering shockwaves throughout the basketball world.
This is Durant&rsquo;s fourth different team in seven seasons, but he doesn&rsquo;t feel like joining the Suns midseason will be a huge adjustment.
&ldquo;I have a lot of experience in the league, so the transition was a little easier than it would have been 10 years ago,&rdquo; Durant said following practice Tuesday. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a quick turnaround and everything happened so fast. But the game is the constant thing.&rdquo;
The Suns are hoping that Durant&rsquo;s addition gets them over the hump after losing to the Milwaukee Bucks in six games in the 2021 NBA Finals.
The Suns were in fourth place in the Western Conference at 33-29 entering Wednesday night&rsquo;s game &mdash; one game ahead of another of his former teams, the Golden State Warriors, with 20 remaining. Phoenix was 10 1/2 games behind the West-leading Denver Nuggets.
Durant has spent the past couple of weeks getting to know his new teammates on a personal level, as well as how they operate on the floor while mostly watching from the sideline as he recovers from a sprained knee that has kept him out since Jan. 8.
The knee has been pain-free for the last couple of weeks, according to Durant, and now it&rsquo;s a matter of working his body into game shape.
He said going through a full practice with teammates on Tuesday helped.
&ldquo;I feel great. I am looking forward to getting this opportunity to play again,&rdquo; Durant said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s been a long time. I was having fun out there before I got injured. I&rsquo;m looking forward to going out there and picking up where I left off. I know it will take me some time to get used to everything early on.&rdquo;
His first game back comes against a Hornets team that has won a season-best five straight games but lost star point guard LaMelo Ball to broken ankle on Monday night. Charlotte also is expected to be without P.J. Washington (knee soreness) for a third straight game, meaning second-year forward JT Thor would have the unenviable task of guarding Durant.
&nbsp;

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Kevin Durant has been through quite a bit during his 15-year NBA career &mdash; but joining a new team midway through the season is a new one for the 13-time All-Star.
The 34-year-old Durant doesn&rsquo;t seem all that worried.
Durant makes his highly anticipated Phoenix Suns debut on Wednesday night against the Charlotte Hornets. It comes 20 days after Phoenix&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/brooklyn-nets-phoenix-suns-nba-sports-basketball-3932b34f477549895cce131490bec86d" target="_blank" rel="noopener">completed a blockbuster deal</a>&nbsp;that sent Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson and four first-round picks to the Brooklyn Nets, delivering shockwaves throughout the basketball world.
This is Durant&rsquo;s fourth different team in seven seasons, but he doesn&rsquo;t feel like joining the Suns midseason will be a huge adjustment.
&ldquo;I have a lot of experience in the league, so the transition was a little easier than it would have been 10 years ago,&rdquo; Durant said following practice Tuesday. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a quick turnaround and everything happened so fast. But the game is the constant thing.&rdquo;
The Suns are hoping that Durant&rsquo;s addition gets them over the hump after losing to the Milwaukee Bucks in six games in the 2021 NBA Finals.
The Suns were in fourth place in the Western Conference at 33-29 entering Wednesday night&rsquo;s game &mdash; one game ahead of another of his former teams, the Golden State Warriors, with 20 remaining. Phoenix was 10 1/2 games behind the West-leading Denver Nuggets.
Durant has spent the past couple of weeks getting to know his new teammates on a personal level, as well as how they operate on the floor while mostly watching from the sideline as he recovers from a sprained knee that has kept him out since Jan. 8.
The knee has been pain-free for the last couple of weeks, according to Durant, and now it&rsquo;s a matter of working his body into game shape.
He said going through a full practice with teammates on Tuesday helped.
&ldquo;I feel great. I am looking forward to getting this opportunity to play again,&rdquo; Durant said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s been a long time. I was having fun out there before I got injured. I&rsquo;m looking forward to going out there and picking up where I left off. I know it will take me some time to get used to everything early on.&rdquo;
His first game back comes against a Hornets team that has won a season-best five straight games but lost star point guard LaMelo Ball to broken ankle on Monday night. Charlotte also is expected to be without P.J. Washington (knee soreness) for a third straight game, meaning second-year forward JT Thor would have the unenviable task of guarding Durant.
Durant remains at the top of his game, averaging 29 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game while shooting 55.9% from the field and 37.6% from 3-point range this season.
He has been trying to visualize where he fits into the Suns&rsquo; system and how he can have the biggest impact while learning the team&rsquo;s plays.
&ldquo;I know my versatility can help me a lot of different areas on both ends of the court,&rdquo; Durant said. &ldquo;Being able to shoot the ball from different areas of the floor can help me, even if I don&rsquo;t know every small subtlety in a play I can still try to figure out just by movement and stuff.&rdquo;
&nbsp;

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Kevin Durant has been through quite a bit during his 15-year NBA career &mdash; but joining a new team midway through the season is a new one for the 13-time All-Star.
The 34-year-old Durant doesn&rsquo;t seem all that worried.
Durant makes his highly anticipated Phoenix Suns debut on Wednesday night against the Charlotte Hornets. It comes 20 days after Phoenix&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/brooklyn-nets-phoenix-suns-nba-sports-basketball-3932b34f477549895cce131490bec86d" target="_blank" rel="noopener">completed a blockbuster deal</a>&nbsp;that sent Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson and four first-round picks to the Brooklyn Nets, delivering shockwaves throughout the basketball world.
This is Durant&rsquo;s fourth different team in seven seasons, but he doesn&rsquo;t feel like joining the Suns midseason will be a huge adjustment.
&ldquo;I have a lot of experience in the league, so the transition was a little easier than it would have been 10 years ago,&rdquo; Durant said following practice Tuesday. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a quick turnaround and everything happened so fast. But the game is the constant thing.&rdquo;
The Suns are hoping that Durant&rsquo;s addition gets them over the hump after losing to the Milwaukee Bucks in six games in the 2021 NBA Finals.
The Suns were in fourth place in the Western Conference at 33-29 entering Wednesday night&rsquo;s game &mdash; one game ahead of another of his former teams, the Golden State Warriors, with 20 remaining. Phoenix was 10 1/2 games behind the West-leading Denver Nuggets.
Durant has spent the past couple of weeks getting to know his new teammates on a personal level, as well as how they operate on the floor while mostly watching from the sideline as he recovers from a sprained knee that has kept him out since Jan. 8.
The knee has been pain-free for the last couple of weeks, according to Durant, and now it&rsquo;s a matter of working his body into game shape.
He said going through a full practice with teammates on Tuesday helped.
&ldquo;I feel great. I am looking forward to getting this opportunity to play again,&rdquo; Durant said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s been a long time. I was having fun out there before I got injured. I&rsquo;m looking forward to going out there and picking up where I left off. I know it will take me some time to get used to everything early on.&rdquo;
His first game back comes against a Hornets team that has won a season-best five straight games but lost star point guard LaMelo Ball to broken ankle on Monday night. Charlotte also is expected to be without P.J. Washington (knee soreness) for a third straight game, meaning second-year forward JT Thor would have the unenviable task of guarding Durant.
Durant remains at the top of his game, averaging 29 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game while shooting 55.9% from the field and 37.6% from 3-point range this season.
He has been trying to visualize where he fits into the Suns&rsquo; system and how he can have the biggest impact while learning the team&rsquo;s plays.
&ldquo;I know my versatility can help me a lot of different areas on both ends of the court,&rdquo; Durant said. &ldquo;Being able to shoot the ball from different areas of the floor can help me, even if I don&rsquo;t know every small subtlety in a play I can still try to figure out just by movement and stuff.&rdquo;
He said his new teammates have been eager to integrate him into offensive sets.
&ldquo;Having a long practice helped, and we were able to figure some stuff out,&rdquo; Durant said. &ldquo;So it&rsquo;s been fun. I&rsquo;m looking forward to trying to translate over to the floor and see how we can keep building.&rdquo;
Durant is clearly embracing his new surroundings and the idea of playing with Chris Paul, Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton and contending for another NBA title. Durant said he likes the energy of his new team and sees plenty of chemistry.
&ldquo;There is an enthusiasm for the game and if a problem arises everyone is talking about it,&rdquo; Durant said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not simmering or lingering over for too long and that&rsquo;s always a good thing.&rdquo;

Kevin Durant spoke to the media before making his highly anticipated Suns debut against the Hornets on Wednesday night.

Kevin Durant eager for Suns debut tonight against Hornets

Charlotte Hornets star point guard LaMelo suffered a fracture in his right ankle in Monday night's 117-106 win against the Detroit Pistons.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
OFFICIAL: LaMelo Ball suffered a fracture in his right ankle in tonight&rsquo;s home game vs. Detroit. Presented by <a href="https://twitter.com/NovantHealth?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@novanthealth</a>
&mdash; Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) <a href="https://twitter.com/hornets/status/1630393904263581696?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 28, 2023</a></blockquote>

<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>

While no timeline has been officially announced, Ball will likely miss the remainder of the season. The Hornets were well out of the playoff hunt at 20-43 on the season.
It's been a tough season for the 21-year-old who has battled injuries that have limited him to just 35 games.&nbsp;

Charlotte Hornets star point guard LaMelo suffered a fracture in his right ankle in Monday night's 117-106 win against the Detroit Pistons.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
OFFICIAL: LaMelo Ball suffered a fracture in his right ankle in tonight&rsquo;s home game vs. Detroit. Presented by <a href="https://twitter.com/NovantHealth?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@novanthealth</a>
&mdash; Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) <a href="https://twitter.com/hornets/status/1630393904263581696?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 28, 2023</a></blockquote>

<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>

While no timeline has been officially announced, Ball will likely miss the remainder of the season. The Hornets were well out of the playoff hunt at 20-43 on the season.
It's been a tough season for the 21-year-old who has battled injuries&nbsp;

Charlotte Hornets star point guard LaMelo suffered a fracture in his right ankle in Monday night's 117-106 win against the Detroit Pistons.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
OFFICIAL: LaMelo Ball suffered a fracture in his right ankle in tonight&rsquo;s home game vs. Detroit. Presented by <a href="https://twitter.com/NovantHealth?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@novanthealth</a>
&mdash; Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) <a href="https://twitter.com/hornets/status/1630393904263581696?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 28, 2023</a></blockquote>

<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>

While no timeline has been officially announced, Ball will likely miss the remainder of the season. The Hornets were well out of the playoff hunt at 20-43 on the season.
It's been a tough season for the 21-year-old who has battled injuries in what is just his third year in the league.&nbsp;

Charlotte Hornets star point guard LaMelo suffered a fracture in his right ankle in Monday night's 117-106 win against the Detroit Pistons.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
OFFICIAL: LaMelo Ball suffered a fracture in his right ankle in tonight&rsquo;s home game vs. Detroit. Presented by <a href="https://twitter.com/NovantHealth?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@novanthealth</a>
&mdash; Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) <a href="https://twitter.com/hornets/status/1630393904263581696?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 28, 2023</a></blockquote>

<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>

While no timeline has been officially announced, Ball will likely miss the remainder of the season. The Hornets were well out of the playoff hunt at 20-43 on the season.
It's been a tough season for the 21-year-old who has battled injuries in what is just his third year in the league. He has been limited to 35 games, averaging&nbsp;

Charlotte Hornets star point guard LaMelo suffered a fracture in his right ankle in Monday night's 117-106 win against the Detroit Pistons.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
OFFICIAL: LaMelo Ball suffered a fracture in his right ankle in tonight&rsquo;s home game vs. Detroit. Presented by <a href="https://twitter.com/NovantHealth?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@novanthealth</a>
&mdash; Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) <a href="https://twitter.com/hornets/status/1630393904263581696?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 28, 2023</a></blockquote>

<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>

While no timeline has been officially announced, Ball will likely miss the remainder of the season. The Hornets were well out of the playoff hunt at 20-43 on the season.
It's been a tough season for the 21-year-old who has battled injuries in what is just his third year in the league. He has been limited to 35 games, averaging 23.4 points,&nbsp;

Charlotte Hornets star point guard LaMelo suffered a fracture in his right ankle in Monday night's 117-106 win against the Detroit Pistons.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
OFFICIAL: LaMelo Ball suffered a fracture in his right ankle in tonight&rsquo;s home game vs. Detroit. Presented by <a href="https://twitter.com/NovantHealth?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@novanthealth</a>
&mdash; Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) <a href="https://twitter.com/hornets/status/1630393904263581696?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 28, 2023</a></blockquote>

<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>

While no timeline has been officially announced, Ball will likely miss the remainder of the season. The Hornets were well out of the playoff hunt at 20-43 on the season.
It's been a tough season for the 21-year-old who has battled injuries in what is just his third year in the league. He has been limited to 35 games, averaging 23.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 8.5 assists.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; LaMelo Ball&rsquo;s frustrating, injury-plagued season could be over after the point guard broke his right ankle in Charlotte&rsquo;s 117-106 win over the Detroit Pistons on Monday night.
Ball has already missed 27 games this season after he sprained his left ankle on three separate occasions, beginning in the preseason. He and the Hornets (20-43) were playing their best basketball of the season before the point guard fell to the floor on a non-contact play in the third quarter.
X-rays revealed the fracture to Ball&rsquo;s ankle.
&ldquo;It sucks,&rdquo; Hornets swingman Gordon Hayward said, shaking his head. &ldquo;Injuries are the worst part of the game.&rdquo;
Ball had entered the game with five straight double-doubles and appeared on his way to another with 18 points, six rebounds and five assists before leaving with 9:26 left in the period.
He was also shooting the ball extremely well from deep, having made 47.3% (27 of 57) of his 3-point shots over the last five games. He was 6 of 7 from beyond the arc against the Pistons.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; LaMelo Ball&rsquo;s frustrating, injury-plagued season could be over after the point guard broke his right ankle in Charlotte&rsquo;s 117-106 win over the Detroit Pistons on Monday night.
Ball has already missed 27 games this season after he sprained his left ankle on three separate occasions, beginning in the preseason. He and the Hornets (20-43) were playing their best basketball of the season before the point guard fell to the floor on a non-contact play in the third quarter.
X-rays revealed the fracture to Ball&rsquo;s ankle.
&ldquo;It sucks,&rdquo; Hornets swingman Gordon Hayward said, shaking his head. &ldquo;Injuries are the worst part of the game.&rdquo;
Ball had entered the game with five straight double-doubles and appeared on his way to another with 18 points, six rebounds and five assists before leaving with 9:26 left in the period.
He was also shooting the ball extremely well from deep, having made 47.3% (27 of 57) of his 3-point shots over the last five games. He was 6 of 7 from beyond the arc against the Pistons.
Charlotte&rsquo;s five-game win streak was the team&rsquo;s longest of the season.
&ldquo;We were starting to figure it out as a team,&rdquo; Hayward said. &ldquo;He and I were starting to build (chemistry). I think me personally, I was starting to build a good relationship with him on the court and we were finding easy buckets for each other. Some of that is what we&rsquo;ve gone through the whole year, not being able to build that out on the court with different guys being injured. Him at the beginning of the season, then me right after that, and now him again. It&rsquo;s been back and forth with different people through the year, which is tough.&rdquo;
&nbsp;

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; LaMelo Ball&rsquo;s frustrating, injury-plagued season could be over after the point guard broke his right ankle in Charlotte&rsquo;s 117-106 win over the Detroit Pistons on Monday night.
Ball has already missed 27 games this season after he sprained his left ankle on three separate occasions, beginning in the preseason. He and the Hornets (20-43) were playing their best basketball of the season before the point guard fell to the floor on a non-contact play in the third quarter.
X-rays revealed the fracture to Ball&rsquo;s ankle.
&ldquo;It sucks,&rdquo; Hornets swingman Gordon Hayward said, shaking his head. &ldquo;Injuries are the worst part of the game.&rdquo;
Ball had entered the game with five straight double-doubles and appeared on his way to another with 18 points, six rebounds and five assists before leaving with 9:26 left in the period.
He was also shooting the ball extremely well from deep, having made 47.3% (27 of 57) of his 3-point shots over the last five games. He was 6 of 7 from beyond the arc against the Pistons.
Charlotte&rsquo;s five-game win streak was the team&rsquo;s longest of the season.
&ldquo;We were starting to figure it out as a team,&rdquo; Hayward said. &ldquo;He and I were starting to build (chemistry). I think me personally, I was starting to build a good relationship with him on the court and we were finding easy buckets for each other. Some of that is what we&rsquo;ve gone through the whole year, not being able to build that out on the court with different guys being injured. Him at the beginning of the season, then me right after that, and now him again. It&rsquo;s been back and forth with different people through the year, which is tough.&rdquo;
Ball had just dribbled behind his back and appeared to be setting up to work off a screen from center Mark Williams beyond the 3-point arc when he fell to the ground. He grabbed the loose ball and passed to Williams, who found a teammate for a score.
Ball was taken to the locker room.
Hayward said players figured he had &ldquo;tweaked something,&rdquo; not knowing the extent of the injury until after the game.
Hornets coach Steve Clifford didn&rsquo;t say how long Ball would be out. But given the severity of the injury and the fact the Hornets only have 19 games remaining and are not in contention for the playoffs, it seems unlikely the team would rush him back.
&nbsp;

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; LaMelo Ball&rsquo;s frustrating, injury-plagued season could be over after the point guard broke his right ankle in Charlotte&rsquo;s 117-106 win over the Detroit Pistons on Monday night.
Ball has already missed 27 games this season after he sprained his left ankle on three separate occasions, beginning in the preseason. He and the Hornets (20-43) were playing their best basketball of the season before the point guard fell to the floor on a non-contact play in the third quarter.
X-rays revealed the fracture to Ball&rsquo;s ankle.
&ldquo;It sucks,&rdquo; Hornets swingman Gordon Hayward said, shaking his head. &ldquo;Injuries are the worst part of the game.&rdquo;
Ball had entered the game with five straight double-doubles and appeared on his way to another with 18 points, six rebounds and five assists before leaving with 9:26 left in the period.
He was also shooting the ball extremely well from deep, having made 47.3% (27 of 57) of his 3-point shots over the last five games. He was 6 of 7 from beyond the arc against the Pistons.
Charlotte&rsquo;s five-game win streak was the team&rsquo;s longest of the season.
&ldquo;We were starting to figure it out as a team,&rdquo; Hayward said. &ldquo;He and I were starting to build (chemistry). I think me personally, I was starting to build a good relationship with him on the court and we were finding easy buckets for each other. Some of that is what we&rsquo;ve gone through the whole year, not being able to build that out on the court with different guys being injured. Him at the beginning of the season, then me right after that, and now him again. It&rsquo;s been back and forth with different people through the year, which is tough.&rdquo;
Ball had just dribbled behind his back and appeared to be setting up to work off a screen from center Mark Williams beyond the 3-point arc when he fell to the ground. He grabbed the loose ball and passed to Williams, who found a teammate for a score.
Ball was taken to the locker room.
Hayward said players figured he had &ldquo;tweaked something,&rdquo; not knowing the extent of the injury until after the game.
Hornets coach Steve Clifford didn&rsquo;t say how long Ball would be out. But given the severity of the injury and the fact the Hornets only have 19 games remaining and are not in contention for the playoffs, it seems unlikely the team would rush him back.
&ldquo;The only thing you can do is watch the film, learn from it and then focus on what we have to do tomorrow in practice to get ready for (the next game). Unfortunately, we&rsquo;re experienced at playing without all of them, so it&rsquo;s not like it&rsquo;s going to be brand new,&rdquo; Clifford said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s tough, too, because he was starting to play so well, and the team obviously was playing better and better. They&rsquo;re not going to wait for us.&rdquo;
Hayward said he texted Ball after the game, but hadn&rsquo;t spoken with him.
&ldquo;I think that is the most important thing when you are injured &mdash; stay positive and have a good support system around you including your teammates, family and friends,&rdquo; said Hayward, who broke an ankle on an awkward landing in 2017 while playing for Boston. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s young and he will bounce back but it is always tough in the moment.&rdquo;

Charlotte Hornets point guard LaMelo Ball has suffered a fracture in his right ankle, likely ending his season.

Hornets' LaMelo Ball likely out for season with fractured ankle

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; LaMelo Ball had 28 points, 10 assists and a season-high 12 rebounds and the Charlotte Hornets beat San Antonio 120-110 on Wednesday night to send the Spurs into the NBA All-Star break with a franchise-record 14-game losing streak.
The 21-year-old Ball became the second-youngest player in NBA history to reach 1,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 1,000 assists in his career.
&ldquo;He is an ultra-talented player for sure,&rdquo; Hornets swingman Gordon Hayward said. &ldquo;Great vision for sure and he&rsquo;s all over the court. (With rebounding) he has an special ability to be in the right place at the right time. ... He&rsquo;s obviously a great player already and I think he will continue to grow into an even better one.&rdquo;
When told about the accomplishment Ball immediately correctly guessed that LeBron James was the only player younger than him to reach that pinnacle.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t like to trip to up with that stuff,&rdquo; Ball said of being on the same list as James. &ldquo;I just go out and try to get win after win.&rdquo;
<div class="taboola_readmore">&nbsp;</div>
<div class="Component-dfp-0-2-62 apnews_article_midarticle_1" data-card-id="sovrn-article-midarticle">&nbsp;</div>

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; LaMelo Ball had 28 points, 10 assists and a season-high 12 rebounds and the Charlotte Hornets beat San Antonio 120-110 on Wednesday night to send the Spurs into the NBA All-Star break with a franchise-record 14-game losing streak.
The 21-year-old Ball became the second-youngest player in NBA history to reach 1,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 1,000 assists in his career.
&ldquo;He is an ultra-talented player for sure,&rdquo; Hornets swingman Gordon Hayward said. &ldquo;Great vision for sure and he&rsquo;s all over the court. (With rebounding) he has an special ability to be in the right place at the right time. ... He&rsquo;s obviously a great player already and I think he will continue to grow into an even better one.&rdquo;
When told about the accomplishment Ball immediately correctly guessed that LeBron James was the only player younger than him to reach that pinnacle.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t like to trip to up with that stuff,&rdquo; Ball said of being on the same list as James. &ldquo;I just go out and try to get win after win.&rdquo;
<div class="Component-dfp-0-2-62 apnews_article_midarticle_1" data-card-id="sovrn-article-midarticle">&nbsp;</div>

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; LaMelo Ball had 28 points, 10 assists and a season-high 12 rebounds and the Charlotte Hornets beat San Antonio 120-110 on Wednesday night to send the Spurs into the NBA All-Star break with a franchise-record 14-game losing streak.
The 21-year-old Ball became the second-youngest player in NBA history to reach 1,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 1,000 assists in his career.
&ldquo;He is an ultra-talented player for sure,&rdquo; Hornets swingman Gordon Hayward said. &ldquo;Great vision for sure and he&rsquo;s all over the court. (With rebounding) he has an special ability to be in the right place at the right time. ... He&rsquo;s obviously a great player already and I think he will continue to grow into an even better one.&rdquo;
When told about the accomplishment Ball immediately correctly guessed that LeBron James was the only player younger than him to reach that pinnacle.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t like to trip to up with that stuff,&rdquo; Ball said of being on the same list as James. &ldquo;I just go out and try to get win after win.&rdquo;
<div class="Component-dfp-0-2-62 apnews_article_midarticle_1" data-card-id="sovrn-article-midarticle">
For Ball, it was his third triple-double of the season and franchise-leading ninth overall.
The Hornets got another solid contribution from P.J. Washington, who had 22 points and 10 rebounds, and rookie Mark Williams added 12 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots as Charlotte won its second straight game.
&nbsp;
</div>

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; LaMelo Ball had 28 points, 10 assists and a season-high 12 rebounds and the Charlotte Hornets beat San Antonio 120-110 on Wednesday night to send the Spurs into the NBA All-Star break with a franchise-record 14-game losing streak.
The 21-year-old Ball became the second-youngest player in NBA history to reach 1,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 1,000 assists in his career.
&ldquo;He is an ultra-talented player for sure,&rdquo; Hornets swingman Gordon Hayward said. &ldquo;Great vision for sure and he&rsquo;s all over the court. (With rebounding) he has an special ability to be in the right place at the right time. ... He&rsquo;s obviously a great player already and I think he will continue to grow into an even better one.&rdquo;
When told about the accomplishment Ball immediately correctly guessed that LeBron James was the only player younger than him to reach that pinnacle.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t like to trip to up with that stuff,&rdquo; Ball said of being on the same list as James. &ldquo;I just go out and try to get win after win.&rdquo;
<div class="Component-dfp-0-2-62 apnews_article_midarticle_1" data-card-id="sovrn-article-midarticle">
For Ball, it was his third triple-double of the season and franchise-leading ninth overall.
The Hornets got another solid contribution from P.J. Washington, who had 22 points and 10 rebounds, and rookie Mark Williams added 12 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots as Charlotte won its second straight game.
The Hornets had 12 blocks in all, including five by backup center Nick Richards.
For years the Panthers have sought a rim protector &mdash; and now it appears they have two young and capable shot blockers in 7-footers Williams and Richards.
&ldquo;What they both do is make exceptional plays because of their size and athleticism,&rdquo; Hornets coach Steve Clifford said. &ldquo;What they need to do now on top of that is less mistakes and not giving possessions away. If they do that we will be in good shape and they will be too.&rdquo;
Malaki Branham had 23 points and Keldon Johnson added 21 points for the Spurs, who have not won on the road since beating Houston on Dec. 19. Doug McDermott added 17 points on five 3s.
The Hornets led 60-57 at halftime behind Ball, who nearly had a triple-double before the break with 10 points, nine rebounds and eight assists while seeing extra minutes with backcourt mate Terry Rozier out with knee soreness.
&nbsp;
</div>

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; LaMelo Ball had 28 points, 10 assists and a season-high 12 rebounds and the Charlotte Hornets beat San Antonio 120-110 on Wednesday night to send the Spurs into the NBA All-Star break with a franchise-record 14-game losing streak.
The 21-year-old Ball became the second-youngest player in NBA history to reach 1,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 1,000 assists in his career.
&ldquo;He is an ultra-talented player for sure,&rdquo; Hornets swingman Gordon Hayward said. &ldquo;Great vision for sure and he&rsquo;s all over the court. (With rebounding) he has an special ability to be in the right place at the right time. ... He&rsquo;s obviously a great player already and I think he will continue to grow into an even better one.&rdquo;
When told about the accomplishment Ball immediately correctly guessed that LeBron James was the only player younger than him to reach that pinnacle.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t like to trip to up with that stuff,&rdquo; Ball said of being on the same list as James. &ldquo;I just go out and try to get win after win.&rdquo;
<div class="Component-dfp-0-2-62 apnews_article_midarticle_1" data-card-id="sovrn-article-midarticle">
For Ball, it was his third triple-double of the season and franchise-leading ninth overall.
The Hornets got another solid contribution from P.J. Washington, who had 22 points and 10 rebounds, and rookie Mark Williams added 12 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots as Charlotte won its second straight game.
The Hornets had 12 blocks in all, including five by backup center Nick Richards.
For years the Panthers have sought a rim protector &mdash; and now it appears they have two young and capable shot blockers in 7-footers Williams and Richards.
&ldquo;What they both do is make exceptional plays because of their size and athleticism,&rdquo; Hornets coach Steve Clifford said. &ldquo;What they need to do now on top of that is less mistakes and not giving possessions away. If they do that we will be in good shape and they will be too.&rdquo;
Malaki Branham had 23 points and Keldon Johnson added 21 points for the Spurs, who have not won on the road since beating Houston on Dec. 19. Doug McDermott added 17 points on five 3s.
The Hornets led 60-57 at halftime behind Ball, who nearly had a triple-double before the break with 10 points, nine rebounds and eight assists while seeing extra minutes with backcourt mate Terry Rozier out with knee soreness.
Charlotte looked like it might pull away in the fourth quarter, but McDermott led the Spurs back with back-to-back 3-pointers and short jumper to cut the lead to one.
But newly acquired guard Svi Mykhailiuk, playing in his first game with the Hornets, sparked a Charlotte run by burying a jumper from the corner to help push the lead back to six with five minutes remaining.
Ball&rsquo;s fifth 3-pointer of the game with two minutes remaining pushed the lead back to nine and Washington&rsquo;s offensive rebound and resounding dunk with 59 seconds left sealed the win.
&ldquo;At some point, you have to take pride in what you&rsquo;re doing execution wise and competitively,&rdquo; Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. &ldquo;That starts with defense and we really sucked. That&rsquo;s on me when I think we&rsquo;re starting to improve on it, and we go back two steps, so that&rsquo;s something I&rsquo;m going to have to think about, figure out how I&rsquo;m going to be able to motivate them better.&rdquo;
<div class="Component-dfp-0-2-62 apnews_article_midarticle_3" data-card-id="sovrn-article-midarticle">&nbsp;</div>
</div>

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; LaMelo Ball had 28 points, 10 assists and a season-high 12 rebounds and the Charlotte Hornets beat San Antonio 120-110 on Wednesday night to send the Spurs into the NBA All-Star break with a franchise-record 14-game losing streak.
The 21-year-old Ball became the second-youngest player in NBA history to reach 1,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 1,000 assists in his career.
&ldquo;He is an ultra-talented player for sure,&rdquo; Hornets swingman Gordon Hayward said. &ldquo;Great vision for sure and he&rsquo;s all over the court. (With rebounding) he has an special ability to be in the right place at the right time. ... He&rsquo;s obviously a great player already and I think he will continue to grow into an even better one.&rdquo;
When told about the accomplishment Ball immediately correctly guessed that LeBron James was the only player younger than him to reach that pinnacle.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t like to trip to up with that stuff,&rdquo; Ball said of being on the same list as James. &ldquo;I just go out and try to get win after win.&rdquo;
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For Ball, it was his third triple-double of the season and franchise-leading ninth overall.
The Hornets got another solid contribution from P.J. Washington, who had 22 points and 10 rebounds, and rookie Mark Williams added 12 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots as Charlotte won its second straight game.
The Hornets had 12 blocks in all, including five by backup center Nick Richards.
For years the Panthers have sought a rim protector &mdash; and now it appears they have two young and capable shot blockers in 7-footers Williams and Richards.
&ldquo;What they both do is make exceptional plays because of their size and athleticism,&rdquo; Hornets coach Steve Clifford said. &ldquo;What they need to do now on top of that is less mistakes and not giving possessions away. If they do that we will be in good shape and they will be too.&rdquo;
Malaki Branham had 23 points and Keldon Johnson added 21 points for the Spurs, who have not won on the road since beating Houston on Dec. 19. Doug McDermott added 17 points on five 3s.
The Hornets led 60-57 at halftime behind Ball, who nearly had a triple-double before the break with 10 points, nine rebounds and eight assists while seeing extra minutes with backcourt mate Terry Rozier out with knee soreness.
Charlotte looked like it might pull away in the fourth quarter, but McDermott led the Spurs back with back-to-back 3-pointers and short jumper to cut the lead to one.
But newly acquired guard Svi Mykhailiuk, playing in his first game with the Hornets, sparked a Charlotte run by burying a jumper from the corner to help push the lead back to six with five minutes remaining.
Ball&rsquo;s fifth 3-pointer of the game with two minutes remaining pushed the lead back to nine and Washington&rsquo;s offensive rebound and resounding dunk with 59 seconds left sealed the win.
&ldquo;At some point, you have to take pride in what you&rsquo;re doing execution wise and competitively,&rdquo; Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. &ldquo;That starts with defense and we really sucked. That&rsquo;s on me when I think we&rsquo;re starting to improve on it, and we go back two steps, so that&rsquo;s something I&rsquo;m going to have to think about, figure out how I&rsquo;m going to be able to motivate them better.&rdquo;
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TIP INS
Spurs: Shot 38.3% from the field.
Hornets: Dennis Smith Jr. got the start for Rozier, who was held out with knee soreness. ... Svi Mykhailiuk saw his first action since being acquired in a trade. He scored his first basket on an alley-oop from Ball after a backdoor cut.
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LaMelo Ball had 28 points, 10 assists and a season-high 12 rebounds and the Charlotte Hornets beat San Antonio 120-110.

Ball has triple-double, Hornets hand Spurs 14th loss in row

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Nikola Jokic had 30 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists for his league-leading 20th triple-double and the short-handed Denver Nuggets handed the Charlotte Hornets their seventh straight defeat, 119-105 on Saturday night.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 15 points and Bruce Brown and Michael Porter Jr. each had 14 for the Nuggets.
Denver played without Aaron Gordon (rib contusion) and Jamaal Murray (knee inflammation), but outscored the Hornets 62-45 in the second half.
Jokic now has twice as many triple-doubles as Dallas&rsquo; Luka Doncic, who was second in the league with 10 entering the weekend.
But the two-time NBA MVP said that doesn&rsquo;t mean a thing to him, adding, &ldquo;it&rsquo;s just how I play, and I don&rsquo;t even think about it.&rdquo;
He was more excited about the Nuggets snapping a four-game losing streak on the road.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s really important just to get back to winning after our loss (Thursday night) to Orlando,&rdquo; Jokic said. &ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t start well, but in the second half our defense won the game.&rdquo;
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CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Nikola Jokic had 30 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists for his league-leading 20th triple-double and the short-handed Denver Nuggets handed the Charlotte Hornets their seventh straight defeat, 119-105 on Saturday night.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 15 points and Bruce Brown and Michael Porter Jr. each had 14 for the Nuggets.
Denver played without Aaron Gordon (rib contusion) and Jamaal Murray (knee inflammation), but outscored the Hornets 62-45 in the second half.
Jokic now has twice as many triple-doubles as Dallas&rsquo; Luka Doncic, who was second in the league with 10 entering the weekend.
But the two-time NBA MVP said that doesn&rsquo;t mean a thing to him, adding, &ldquo;it&rsquo;s just how I play, and I don&rsquo;t even think about it.&rdquo;
He was more excited about the Nuggets snapping a four-game losing streak on the road.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s really important just to get back to winning after our loss (Thursday night) to Orlando,&rdquo; Jokic said. &ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t start well, but in the second half our defense won the game.&rdquo;
Jokic made light work of Hornets rookie Mark Williams and third-year player Nick Richards, using his big body to post up on the low block to seemingly score at will with overpowering moves in the lane.
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CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Nikola Jokic had 30 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists for his league-leading 20th triple-double and the short-handed Denver Nuggets handed the Charlotte Hornets their seventh straight defeat, 119-105 on Saturday night.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 15 points and Bruce Brown and Michael Porter Jr. each had 14 for the Nuggets.
Denver played without Aaron Gordon (rib contusion) and Jamaal Murray (knee inflammation), but outscored the Hornets 62-45 in the second half.
Jokic now has twice as many triple-doubles as Dallas&rsquo; Luka Doncic, who was second in the league with 10 entering the weekend.
But the two-time NBA MVP said that doesn&rsquo;t mean a thing to him, adding, &ldquo;it&rsquo;s just how I play, and I don&rsquo;t even think about it.&rdquo;
He was more excited about the Nuggets snapping a four-game losing streak on the road.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s really important just to get back to winning after our loss (Thursday night) to Orlando,&rdquo; Jokic said. &ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t start well, but in the second half our defense won the game.&rdquo;
Jokic made light work of Hornets rookie Mark Williams and third-year player Nick Richards, using his big body to post up on the low block to seemingly score at will with overpowering moves in the lane.
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When the Hornets doubled him, Jokic found open teammates.
Williams and Richards are seeing more extensive playing time after the Hornets traded Mason Plumlee to the Los Angeles Clippers.
&ldquo;Knowing that Mason Plumlee is not here and they have younger guys, yeah you want to try to go out there and test them,&rdquo; Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. &ldquo;Mark Williams is only going to get better playing through his mistakes. Nick Richards getting to play meaningful minutes off the bench will get better against guys like Nikola.
&ldquo;We always say in the NBA, you have to get baptized. Young guys have to go through the fires and get their (butts) kicked once in a while. That&rsquo;s how you learn, that&rsquo;s how you improve and how you get better.&rdquo;
This was Jokic&rsquo;s second big game this season against Charlotte.
Jokic had 40 points, 27 rebounds and 10 assists in Denver&rsquo;s 119-115 win in December.
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CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Nikola Jokic had 30 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists for his league-leading 20th triple-double and the short-handed Denver Nuggets handed the Charlotte Hornets their seventh straight defeat, 119-105 on Saturday night.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 15 points and Bruce Brown and Michael Porter Jr. each had 14 for the Nuggets.
Denver played without Aaron Gordon (rib contusion) and Jamaal Murray (knee inflammation), but outscored the Hornets 62-45 in the second half.
Jokic now has twice as many triple-doubles as Dallas&rsquo; Luka Doncic, who was second in the league with 10 entering the weekend.
But the two-time NBA MVP said that doesn&rsquo;t mean a thing to him, adding, &ldquo;it&rsquo;s just how I play, and I don&rsquo;t even think about it.&rdquo;
He was more excited about the Nuggets snapping a four-game losing streak on the road.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s really important just to get back to winning after our loss (Thursday night) to Orlando,&rdquo; Jokic said. &ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t start well, but in the second half our defense won the game.&rdquo;
Jokic made light work of Hornets rookie Mark Williams and third-year player Nick Richards, using his big body to post up on the low block to seemingly score at will with overpowering moves in the lane.
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When the Hornets doubled him, Jokic found open teammates.
Williams and Richards are seeing more extensive playing time after the Hornets traded Mason Plumlee to the Los Angeles Clippers.
&ldquo;Knowing that Mason Plumlee is not here and they have younger guys, yeah you want to try to go out there and test them,&rdquo; Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. &ldquo;Mark Williams is only going to get better playing through his mistakes. Nick Richards getting to play meaningful minutes off the bench will get better against guys like Nikola.
&ldquo;We always say in the NBA, you have to get baptized. Young guys have to go through the fires and get their (butts) kicked once in a while. That&rsquo;s how you learn, that&rsquo;s how you improve and how you get better.&rdquo;
This was Jokic&rsquo;s second big game this season against Charlotte.
Jokic had 40 points, 27 rebounds and 10 assists in Denver&rsquo;s 119-115 win in December.
&ldquo;They went to him every play,&rdquo; Hornets coach Steve Clifford said. &ldquo;We needed to have ways to keep him off balance, which we didn&rsquo;t. He showed you why he&rsquo;s been an MVP, and he may be again.&rdquo;
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CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Nikola Jokic had 30 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists for his league-leading 20th triple-double and the short-handed Denver Nuggets handed the Charlotte Hornets their seventh straight defeat, 119-105 on Saturday night.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 15 points and Bruce Brown and Michael Porter Jr. each had 14 for the Nuggets.
Denver played without Aaron Gordon (rib contusion) and Jamaal Murray (knee inflammation), but outscored the Hornets 62-45 in the second half.
Jokic now has twice as many triple-doubles as Dallas&rsquo; Luka Doncic, who was second in the league with 10 entering the weekend.
But the two-time NBA MVP said that doesn&rsquo;t mean a thing to him, adding, &ldquo;it&rsquo;s just how I play, and I don&rsquo;t even think about it.&rdquo;
He was more excited about the Nuggets snapping a four-game losing streak on the road.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s really important just to get back to winning after our loss (Thursday night) to Orlando,&rdquo; Jokic said. &ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t start well, but in the second half our defense won the game.&rdquo;
Jokic made light work of Hornets rookie Mark Williams and third-year player Nick Richards, using his big body to post up on the low block to seemingly score at will with overpowering moves in the lane.
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When the Hornets doubled him, Jokic found open teammates.
Williams and Richards are seeing more extensive playing time after the Hornets traded Mason Plumlee to the Los Angeles Clippers.
&ldquo;Knowing that Mason Plumlee is not here and they have younger guys, yeah you want to try to go out there and test them,&rdquo; Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. &ldquo;Mark Williams is only going to get better playing through his mistakes. Nick Richards getting to play meaningful minutes off the bench will get better against guys like Nikola.
&ldquo;We always say in the NBA, you have to get baptized. Young guys have to go through the fires and get their (butts) kicked once in a while. That&rsquo;s how you learn, that&rsquo;s how you improve and how you get better.&rdquo;
This was Jokic&rsquo;s second big game this season against Charlotte.
Jokic had 40 points, 27 rebounds and 10 assists in Denver&rsquo;s 119-115 win in December.
&ldquo;They went to him every play,&rdquo; Hornets coach Steve Clifford said. &ldquo;We needed to have ways to keep him off balance, which we didn&rsquo;t. He showed you why he&rsquo;s been an MVP, and he may be again.&rdquo;
P.J. Washington had 22 points and Gordon Hayward added 21 for Charlotte. LaMelo Ball finished with 18 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds.
The Hornets endured another rough night from the foul line, converting just 17 of 29 attempts. Charlotte is 28 of 52 from the stripe in its last two home games.
The Hornets jumped out to a 26-12 first-quarter lead behind 13 points from Hayward, who was 6 of 7 from the field. But the Nuggets would trim the lead to three at halftime as the Hornets faltered from the free throw line, going 2 of 11 before the break.
Denver (39-18) pulled away in the third quarter behind Jokic, Caldwell-Pope and Porter, who combined for 26 points.
BRYANT SITS OUT
Malone said he didn&rsquo;t feel right playing center Thomas Bryant, who was acquired Thursday in a trade with the Los Angeles Lakers. Malone said he loves Bryant&rsquo;s work ethic and he will soon figure into the Nuggets rotation.
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CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Nikola Jokic had 30 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists for his league-leading 20th triple-double and the short-handed Denver Nuggets handed the Charlotte Hornets their seventh straight defeat, 119-105 on Saturday night.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 15 points and Bruce Brown and Michael Porter Jr. each had 14 for the Nuggets.
Denver played without Aaron Gordon (rib contusion) and Jamaal Murray (knee inflammation), but outscored the Hornets 62-45 in the second half.
Jokic now has twice as many triple-doubles as Dallas&rsquo; Luka Doncic, who was second in the league with 10 entering the weekend.
But the two-time NBA MVP said that doesn&rsquo;t mean a thing to him, adding, &ldquo;it&rsquo;s just how I play, and I don&rsquo;t even think about it.&rdquo;
He was more excited about the Nuggets snapping a four-game losing streak on the road.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s really important just to get back to winning after our loss (Thursday night) to Orlando,&rdquo; Jokic said. &ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t start well, but in the second half our defense won the game.&rdquo;
Jokic made light work of Hornets rookie Mark Williams and third-year player Nick Richards, using his big body to post up on the low block to seemingly score at will with overpowering moves in the lane.
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When the Hornets doubled him, Jokic found open teammates.
Williams and Richards are seeing more extensive playing time after the Hornets traded Mason Plumlee to the Los Angeles Clippers.
&ldquo;Knowing that Mason Plumlee is not here and they have younger guys, yeah you want to try to go out there and test them,&rdquo; Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. &ldquo;Mark Williams is only going to get better playing through his mistakes. Nick Richards getting to play meaningful minutes off the bench will get better against guys like Nikola.
&ldquo;We always say in the NBA, you have to get baptized. Young guys have to go through the fires and get their (butts) kicked once in a while. That&rsquo;s how you learn, that&rsquo;s how you improve and how you get better.&rdquo;
This was Jokic&rsquo;s second big game this season against Charlotte.
Jokic had 40 points, 27 rebounds and 10 assists in Denver&rsquo;s 119-115 win in December.
&ldquo;They went to him every play,&rdquo; Hornets coach Steve Clifford said. &ldquo;We needed to have ways to keep him off balance, which we didn&rsquo;t. He showed you why he&rsquo;s been an MVP, and he may be again.&rdquo;
P.J. Washington had 22 points and Gordon Hayward added 21 for Charlotte. LaMelo Ball finished with 18 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds.
The Hornets endured another rough night from the foul line, converting just 17 of 29 attempts. Charlotte is 28 of 52 from the stripe in its last two home games.
The Hornets jumped out to a 26-12 first-quarter lead behind 13 points from Hayward, who was 6 of 7 from the field. But the Nuggets would trim the lead to three at halftime as the Hornets faltered from the free throw line, going 2 of 11 before the break.
Denver (39-18) pulled away in the third quarter behind Jokic, Caldwell-Pope and Porter, who combined for 26 points.
BRYANT SITS OUT
Malone said he didn&rsquo;t feel right playing center Thomas Bryant, who was acquired Thursday in a trade with the Los Angeles Lakers. Malone said he loves Bryant&rsquo;s work ethic and he will soon figure into the Nuggets rotation.
Jokic said is eager to see what Bryant can do after averaging 12.2 points and 6.8 rebounds with the Lakers.
&ldquo;We have to learn about him and see how he can help us and he needs to see if he can help us, too,&rdquo; Jokic said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m excited to have another player who can contribute and help us win.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Nuggets: Outrebounded the Hornets 51-37. ... Shot 5 of 23 from 3-point range.
Hornets: Shot just 8 of 32 from beyond the 3-point arc.
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Nikola Jokic had 30 points and the Denver Nuggets handed the Charlotte Hornets their seventh straight defeat, 119-105.

Jokic carries short-handed Nuggets past Hornets 119-105

Steve Clifford is heading back to Charlotte.
Clifford has agreed to a multiyear contract to return as head coach of the NBA&rsquo;s Hornets four years after being fired by team owner Michael Jordan, the team announced Friday night.
Charlotte previously agreed to terms on a four-year contract with Golden State assistant Kenny Atkinson to become head coach, but Atkinson later informed the team he was not taking the job citing family reasons.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m happy to be returning to Charlotte, and I want to thank Michael Jordan, Mitch Kupchak and Buzz Peterson for this opportunity,&rdquo; Clifford said in a release. &ldquo;This is an exciting young team with a lot of talented pieces. Charlotte is a great city and I know first-hand the passion that Hornets fans have for this franchise. I can&rsquo;t wait to get back to town and start working with our players.&rdquo;
The 60-year-old Clifford spent five seasons coaching the Hornets from 2013-18, compiling a 196-214 record with a team that included Kemba Walker.
He led the Hornets to two playoff appearances prior to being dismissed in 2018 when Kupchak arrived as general manager. Clifford coached the Orlando Magic from 2018-21, reaching the playoffs twice. He spent last season as a coaching consultant for the Brooklyn Nets.
Clifford is 292-345 in eight seasons as an NBA coach.
His best season in Charlotte came in 2015-16 when the Hornets went 48-34 and lost in seven games to the Miami Heat in the first round the playoffs.
Team owner Michael Jordan met Wednesday with Clifford, who left the team on good terms in 2018.
Clifford, known as a defensive-minded coach, inherits a team that eighth on offense last season but 22nd on defense. The Hornets gave up 132 points in a 29-point loss to the Hawks in the play-in elimination game last season, which didn&rsquo;t sit well with Jordan.
The Hornets finished sixth, 10th, ninth, 17th and 17th in defensive rating during Clifford&rsquo;s five seasons.
During his eight seasons as an NBA head coach, Clifford&rsquo;s teams have never finished outside the top five in the league in fewest turnovers committed, and in seven of his eight campaigns his team finished in the top two in offensive rebounds allowed and the top five in defensive rebound percentage.
Kupchak said he expects the Hornets to continue to play at a high pace.
&ldquo;Steve is committed to playing with the same offensive pace that our fans are accustomed to seeing the last few years,&rdquo; Kupchak said. &ldquo;We are confident that he will be able to help our young players continue to grow as we look to take the next step as a team.&rdquo;
Clifford inherits a team that is arguably more talented than any of his previous Charlotte teams with All-Star point guard LaMelo Ball, Gordon Hayward and Miles Bridges anchoring the squad.
Atkinson&rsquo;s decision to the renege on his contract on Saturday shocked the Hornets and sent them scrambling for a replacement.
Kupchak said that it was &ldquo;disappointing,&rdquo; but that in some ways he&rsquo;s grateful it happened when it did.
&ldquo;I think he would have been a good pick, but if he&rsquo;s not comfortable here I would rather find out now than a year from now,&rdquo; Kupchak said Thursday night during the NBA draft.
Mike D&rsquo;Antoni and Terry Stotts were also in consideration for the job.
Kupchak orchestrated the team&rsquo;s draft this year without a head coach in place, but said it was not a big deal and that in the pas years he&rsquo;s worked with coaches who aren&rsquo;t even in the draft room.
Charlotte team traded its 13th overall pick to the New York Knicks for a future first round pick and four second round picks and then took Duke center Mark Williams at No. 15. Charlotte added Nebraska guard Bryce McGowens in the second round after Kupchak made another trade.
&ldquo;The roster is really what wins games,&rdquo; Kupchak said. &rdquo;A good coach is going to help with the roster, but the most important thing is to get the roster together.&rdquo;
The general manager said Atkinson&rsquo;s decision reminded him of when Steve Kerr turned down the Knicks coaching job, only to go to Golden State where he&rsquo;s won four NBA titles.
&ldquo;It looks like (Kerr) make a good decision to take the job at Golden State,&rdquo; Kupchak said with a laugh. &ldquo;So maybe Kenny spoke to Steve, and Steve said, &lsquo;Hey, maybe things will work out this way for you.&rsquo; I don&rsquo;t know.&rdquo;
Kupchak also pointed out NFL coach Bill Belichick abruptly resigning before his introductory news conference with the New York Jets in 2000. Belichick went on to coach the New England Patriots and win six Super Bowls.
&ldquo;That was a good decision, too. So maybe Kenny is on to something,&rdquo; Kupchak quipped.
Atkinson has not responded to interview requests from the AP seeking comment about his decision to back out of the agreement. However, Kerr told NBC Sports that Atkinson turned down the job because he didn&rsquo;t want to uproot his family again.

Steve Clifford has agreed to return as head coach of the NBA’s Hornets four years after being fired by team owner Michael Jordan.

Take two: Steve Clifford returns to Hornets as head coach

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — While the Charlotte Hornets improved their win total by 10 games over last year’s abbreviated 72-game season, the end result was the same: an embarrassing blowout loss in the play-in tournament.
Despite winning 43 games, the Hornets finished in 10th place in the Eastern Conference and <a href="https://apnews.com/article/miami-heat-charlotte-hornets-cleveland-cavaliers-atlanta-hawks-nba-3ecd373854232ff01332ae4f7cdd455b">lost 132-103 on Wednesday night to the Atlanta Hawks</a>. Charlotte lost by 27 points to Indiana in last year's play-in tournament as the 10 seed.
If the Hornets want to end that cycle, it'll have to start with defense.
Charlotte posted its highest offensive rating in franchise history and finished eighth overall in the NBA, but the defense continued to lag behind. Charlotte ranked 22nd in defense among the league’s 30 teams. 
The loss to the Hawks illustrated the dire need for a rim protector and better man-to-man defense on the perimeter.
“We need to become more curious about how to guard," coach James Borrego said. “We need to get better defensively by watching the best teams do it and learning from them and watching these (playoff) series.”
Miles Bridges agreed with his coach, adding that he'd like to see the Hornets add an inside presence.
“We have been saying this for the last few years, we have to get better on defense," Bridges said. "We can't keep saying it. We have to actually make it happen.”
BRIDGES' FUTURE
The biggest personnel question heading into the offseason revolves around Bridges' future. He's a restricted free agent who's expected to command big money come July.
Bridges confirmed reports that he turned down a lucrative $60 million contract extension offer from the Hornets last year, hoping to prove he was worth even more with a big season. He did just that, averaging a career-high 20.2 points and 7 rebounds per game.
Borrego admitted he didn't foresee Bridges making this big of a leap.
The Hornets will have the option to match any offer made to Bridges by another team once he becomes a free agent, providing they make him a qualifying offer.
“I anticipate him being back with us," Borrego said. "He’s a major part of this core, we love him. He’s a major part of this franchise.”
Said Bridges: “I mean I would love to come back, for sure. But I don't even worry about that stuff. I let my agent worry about it.”
BALL WILL BE NO. 1
All-Star LaMelo Ball said he expects to be wearing a No. 1 jersey next season instead of the No. 2 he's donned the first two seasons in the league.
Ball petitioned the NBA for a number change, and said he's been told it has been granted.
“It’s supposed to happen,” Ball said. “I ain’t ever supposed to wear No. 2 again. If I see a No. 2 next year, I don’t know what I’m going to do, for real.”
Ball took No. 2 coming into the league because Malik Monk was wearing No. 1 for the Hornets at the time. Ball attempted to change numbers last year, but missed the deadline.
Ball said he's always felt “weird” wearing No. 2.
“You don’t feel like you’re playing for real,” Ball said. “I don’t know who this is. I don’t know who No. 2 is.”
PLUMLEE'S SHOT
Midway through his ninth NBA season, Hornets center Mason Plumlee abruptly and boldly decided to make a huge shift from free throws and shooting jump shots with his left hand instead of his right hand amid a tremendous slump.
Plumlee said he plans to continue shooting lefthanded next season — even though he looks extremely awkward doing so.
“I'm going to stick with the left,” Plumlee said. “It feels good. I know the practice shooting is really good. I know it was an in-the-moment thing, but I'm happy with it."
HAYWARD'S STATUS
Gordon Hayward missed 22 games with a sprained ankle before returning for one game late in the season. But that return was cut short after Hayward experienced pain in the same left foot.
It turns out Hayward had a bone chip in the foot that was preventing him from getting back to full speed. He strolled into the press room on Thursday on a knee scooter, his lower left leg in a hard cast.
“After talking to the doctors they felt like the best way to get this thing to heal would be to cast it and basically get off of it,” Hayward said.
The 32-year-old small forward expects to be ready next season.
BIRD WATCHING
It turns out the Hornets can still have a chance to get a big win in the play-in tournament.
If Pelicans beat the Clippers on Friday night, Charlotte gets New Orleans' first-round draft pick this year (No. 15 overall) as part of the trade that sent Devonte Graham to the Big Easy. If the Pelicans lose, the Hornets get New Orleans' second round picks in 2022 and 2024 instead.
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sport

While the Charlotte Hornets improved their win total by 10 games over last year&rsquo;s abbreviated 72-game season, the end result was the same: an embarrassing blowout loss in the play-in tournament.
Despite winning 43 games, the Hornets finished in 10th place in the Eastern Conference and <a href="https://apnews.com/article/miami-heat-charlotte-hornets-cleveland-cavaliers-atlanta-hawks-nba-3ecd373854232ff01332ae4f7cdd455b">lost 132-103 on Wednesday night to the Atlanta Hawks</a>. Charlotte lost by 27 points to Indiana in last year's play-in tournament as the 10 seed.
If the Hornets want to end that cycle, it'll have to start with defense.
Charlotte posted its highest offensive rating in franchise history and finished eighth overall in the NBA, but the defense continued to lag behind. Charlotte ranked 22nd in defense among the league&rsquo;s 30 teams.
The loss to the Hawks illustrated the dire need for a rim protector and better man-to-man defense on the perimeter.
&ldquo;We need to become more curious about how to guard," coach James Borrego said. &ldquo;We need to get better defensively by watching the best teams do it and learning from them and watching these (playoff) series.&rdquo;
Miles Bridges agreed with his coach, adding that he'd like to see the Hornets add an inside presence.
&ldquo;We have been saying this for the last few years, we have to get better on defense," Bridges said. "We can't keep saying it. We have to actually make it happen.&rdquo;
BRIDGES' FUTURE
The biggest personnel question heading into the offseason revolves around Bridges' future. He's a restricted free agent who's expected to command big money come July.
Bridges confirmed reports that he turned down a lucrative $60 million contract extension offer from the Hornets last year, hoping to prove he was worth even more with a big season. He did just that, averaging a career-high 20.2 points and 7 rebounds per game.
Borrego admitted he didn't foresee Bridges making this big of a leap.
The Hornets will have the option to match any offer made to Bridges by another team once he becomes a free agent, providing they make him a qualifying offer.
&ldquo;I anticipate him being back with us," Borrego said. "He&rsquo;s a major part of this core, we love him. He&rsquo;s a major part of this franchise.&rdquo;
Said Bridges: &ldquo;I mean I would love to come back, for sure. But I don't even worry about that stuff. I let my agent worry about it.&rdquo;
BALL WILL BE NO. 1
All-Star LaMelo Ball said he expects to be wearing a No. 1 jersey next season instead of the No. 2 he's donned the first two seasons in the league.
Ball petitioned the NBA for a number change, and said he's been told it has been granted.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s supposed to happen,&rdquo; Ball said. &ldquo;I ain&rsquo;t ever supposed to wear No. 2 again. If I see a No. 2 next year, I don&rsquo;t know what I&rsquo;m going to do, for real.&rdquo;
Ball took No. 2 coming into the league because Malik Monk was wearing No. 1 for the Hornets at the time. Ball attempted to change numbers last year, but missed the deadline.
Ball said he's always felt &ldquo;weird&rdquo; wearing No. 2.
&ldquo;You don&rsquo;t feel like you&rsquo;re playing for real,&rdquo; Ball said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know who this is. I don&rsquo;t know who No. 2 is.&rdquo;
PLUMLEE'S SHOT
Midway through his ninth NBA season, Hornets center Mason Plumlee abruptly and boldly decided to make a huge shift from free throws and shooting jump shots with his left hand instead of his right hand amid a tremendous slump.
Plumlee said he plans to continue shooting lefthanded next season &mdash; even though he looks extremely awkward doing so.
&ldquo;I'm going to stick with the left,&rdquo; Plumlee said. &ldquo;It feels good. I know the practice shooting is really good. I know it was an in-the-moment thing, but I'm happy with it."
HAYWARD'S STATUS
Gordon Hayward missed 22 games with a sprained ankle before returning for one game late in the season. But that return was cut short after Hayward experienced pain in the same left foot.
It turns out Hayward had a bone chip in the foot that was preventing him from getting back to full speed. He strolled into the press room on Thursday on a knee scooter, his lower left leg in a hard cast.
&ldquo;After talking to the doctors they felt like the best way to get this thing to heal would be to cast it and basically get off of it,&rdquo; Hayward said.
The 32-year-old small forward expects to be ready next season.
BIRD WATCHING
It turns out the Hornets can still have a chance to get a big win in the play-in tournament.
If Pelicans beat the Clippers on Friday night, Charlotte gets New Orleans' first-round draft pick this year (No. 15 overall) as part of the trade that sent Devonte Graham to the Big Easy. If the Pelicans lose, the Hornets get New Orleans' second round picks in 2022 and 2024 instead.
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sport

While the Charlotte Hornets improved their win total by 10 games over last year&rsquo;s abbreviated 72-game season, the end result was the same: an embarrassing blowout loss in the play-in tournament.
Despite winning 43 games, the Hornets finished in 10th place in the Eastern Conference and <a href="https://apnews.com/article/miami-heat-charlotte-hornets-cleveland-cavaliers-atlanta-hawks-nba-3ecd373854232ff01332ae4f7cdd455b">lost 132-103 on Wednesday night to the Atlanta Hawks</a>. Charlotte lost by 27 points to Indiana in last year's play-in tournament as the 10 seed.
If the Hornets want to end that cycle, it'll have to start with defense.
Charlotte posted its highest offensive rating in franchise history and finished eighth overall in the NBA, but the defense continued to lag behind. Charlotte ranked 22nd in defense among the league&rsquo;s 30 teams.
The loss to the Hawks illustrated the dire need for a rim protector and better man-to-man defense on the perimeter.
&ldquo;We need to become more curious about how to guard," coach James Borrego said. &ldquo;We need to get better defensively by watching the best teams do it and learning from them and watching these (playoff) series.&rdquo;
Miles Bridges agreed with his coach, adding that he'd like to see the Hornets add an inside presence.
&ldquo;We have been saying this for the last few years, we have to get better on defense," Bridges said. "We can't keep saying it. We have to actually make it happen.&rdquo;
BRIDGES' FUTURE
The biggest personnel question heading into the offseason revolves around Bridges' future. He's a restricted free agent who's expected to command big money come July.
Bridges confirmed reports that he turned down a lucrative $60 million contract extension offer from the Hornets last year, hoping to prove he was worth even more with a big season. He did just that, averaging a career-high 20.2 points and 7 rebounds per game.
Borrego admitted he didn't foresee Bridges making this big of a leap.
The Hornets will have the option to match any offer made to Bridges by another team once he becomes a free agent, providing they make him a qualifying offer.
&ldquo;I anticipate him being back with us," Borrego said. "He&rsquo;s a major part of this core, we love him. He&rsquo;s a major part of this franchise.&rdquo;
Said Bridges: &ldquo;I mean I would love to come back, for sure. But I don't even worry about that stuff. I let my agent worry about it.&rdquo;
BALL WILL BE NO. 1
All-Star LaMelo Ball said he expects to be wearing a No. 1 jersey next season instead of the No. 2 he's donned the first two seasons in the league.
Ball petitioned the NBA for a number change, and said he's been told it has been granted.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s supposed to happen,&rdquo; Ball said. &ldquo;I ain&rsquo;t ever supposed to wear No. 2 again. If I see a No. 2 next year, I don&rsquo;t know what I&rsquo;m going to do, for real.&rdquo;
Ball took No. 2 coming into the league because Malik Monk was wearing No. 1 for the Hornets at the time. Ball attempted to change numbers last year, but missed the deadline.
Ball said he's always felt &ldquo;weird&rdquo; wearing No. 2.
&ldquo;You don&rsquo;t feel like you&rsquo;re playing for real,&rdquo; Ball said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know who this is. I don&rsquo;t know who No. 2 is.&rdquo;
PLUMLEE'S SHOT
Midway through his ninth NBA season, Hornets center Mason Plumlee abruptly and boldly decided to make a huge shift from free throws and shooting jump shots with his left hand instead of his right hand amid a tremendous slump.
Plumlee said he plans to continue shooting lefthanded next season &mdash; even though he looks extremely awkward doing so.
&ldquo;I'm going to stick with the left,&rdquo; Plumlee said. &ldquo;It feels good. I know the practice shooting is really good. I know it was an in-the-moment thing, but I'm happy with it."
HAYWARD'S STATUS
Gordon Hayward missed 22 games with a sprained ankle before returning for one game late in the season. But that return was cut short after Hayward experienced pain in the same left foot.
It turns out Hayward had a bone chip in the foot that was preventing him from getting back to full speed. He strolled into the press room on Thursday on a knee scooter, his lower left leg in a hard cast.
&ldquo;After talking to the doctors they felt like the best way to get this thing to heal would be to cast it and basically get off of it,&rdquo; Hayward said.
The 32-year-old small forward expects to be ready next season.
BIRD WATCHING
It turns out the Hornets can still have a chance to get a big win in the play-in tournament.
If Pelicans beat the Clippers on Friday night, Charlotte gets New Orleans' first-round draft pick this year (No. 15 overall) as part of the trade that sent Devonte Graham to the Big Easy. If the Pelicans lose, the Hornets get New Orleans' second round picks in 2022 and 2024 instead.

While the Charlotte Hornets improved their win total by 10 games over last year&rsquo;s abbreviated 72-game season, the end result was the same: an embarrassing blowout loss in the play-in tournament.
Despite winning 43 games, the Hornets finished in 10th place in the Eastern Conference and <a href="https://apnews.com/article/miami-heat-charlotte-hornets-cleveland-cavaliers-atlanta-hawks-nba-3ecd373854232ff01332ae4f7cdd455b">lost 132-103 on Wednesday night to the Atlanta Hawks</a>. Charlotte lost by 27 points to Indiana in last year's play-in tournament as the 10 seed.
If the Hornets want to end that cycle, it'll have to start with defense.
Charlotte posted its highest offensive rating in franchise history and finished eighth overall in the NBA, but the defense continued to lag behind. Charlotte ranked 22nd in defense among the league&rsquo;s 30 teams.
The loss to the Hawks illustrated the dire need for a rim protector and better man-to-man defense on the perimeter.
&ldquo;We need to become more curious about how to guard," coach James Borrego said. &ldquo;We need to get better defensively by watching the best teams do it and learning from them and watching these (playoff) series.&rdquo;
Miles Bridges agreed with his coach, adding that he'd like to see the Hornets add an inside presence.
&ldquo;We have been saying this for the last few years, we have to get better on defense," Bridges said. "We can't keep saying it. We have to actually make it happen.&rdquo;
BRIDGES' FUTURE
The biggest personnel question heading into the offseason revolves around Bridges' future. He's a restricted free agent who's expected to command big money come July.
Bridges confirmed reports that he turned down a lucrative $60 million contract extension offer from the Hornets last year, hoping to prove he was worth even more with a big season. He did just that, averaging a career-high 20.2 points and 7 rebounds per game.
Borrego admitted he didn't foresee Bridges making this big of a leap.
The Hornets will have the option to match any offer made to Bridges by another team once he becomes a free agent, providing they make him a qualifying offer.
&ldquo;I anticipate him being back with us," Borrego said. "He&rsquo;s a major part of this core, we love him. He&rsquo;s a major part of this franchise.&rdquo;
Said Bridges: &ldquo;I mean I would love to come back, for sure. But I don't even worry about that stuff. I let my agent worry about it.&rdquo;
BALL WILL BE NO. 1
All-Star LaMelo Ball said he expects to be wearing a No. 1 jersey next season instead of the No. 2 he's donned the first two seasons in the league.
Ball petitioned the NBA for a number change, and said he's been told it has been granted.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s supposed to happen,&rdquo; Ball said. &ldquo;I ain&rsquo;t ever supposed to wear No. 2 again. If I see a No. 2 next year, I don&rsquo;t know what I&rsquo;m going to do, for real.&rdquo;
Ball took No. 2 coming into the league because Malik Monk was wearing No. 1 for the Hornets at the time. Ball attempted to change numbers last year, but missed the deadline.
Ball said he's always felt &ldquo;weird&rdquo; wearing No. 2.
&ldquo;You don&rsquo;t feel like you&rsquo;re playing for real,&rdquo; Ball said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know who this is. I don&rsquo;t know who No. 2 is.&rdquo;
PLUMLEE'S SHOT
Midway through his ninth NBA season, Hornets center Mason Plumlee abruptly and boldly decided to make a huge shift from free throws and shooting jump shots with his left hand instead of his right hand amid a tremendous slump.
Plumlee said he plans to continue shooting lefthanded next season &mdash; even though he looks extremely awkward doing so.
&ldquo;I'm going to stick with the left,&rdquo; Plumlee said. &ldquo;It feels good. I know the practice shooting is really good. I know it was an in-the-moment thing, but I'm happy with it."
HAYWARD'S STATUS
Gordon Hayward missed 22 games with a sprained ankle before returning for one game late in the season. But that return was cut short after Hayward experienced pain in the same left foot.
It turns out Hayward had a bone chip in the foot that was preventing him from getting back to full speed. He strolled into the press room on Thursday on a knee scooter, his lower left leg in a hard cast.
&ldquo;After talking to the doctors they felt like the best way to get this thing to heal would be to cast it and basically get off of it,&rdquo; Hayward said.
The 32-year-old small forward expects to be ready next season.
BIRD WATCHING
It turns out the Hornets can still have a chance to get a big win in the play-in tournament.
If Pelicans beat the Clippers on Friday night, Charlotte gets New Orleans' first-round draft pick this year (No. 15 overall) as part of the trade that sent Devonte Graham to the Big Easy. If the Pelicans lose, the Hornets get New Orleans' second round picks in 2022 and 2024 instead.

While the Charlotte Hornets improved their win total by 10 games over last year&rsquo;s abbreviated 72-game season, the end result was the same: an embarrassing blowout loss in the play-in tournament.
Despite winning 43 games, the Hornets finished in 10th place in the Eastern Conference and <a href="https://apnews.com/article/miami-heat-charlotte-hornets-cleveland-cavaliers-atlanta-hawks-nba-3ecd373854232ff01332ae4f7cdd455b">lost 132-103 on Wednesday night to the Atlanta Hawks</a>. Charlotte lost by 27 points to Indiana in last year's play-in tournament as the 10 seed.
If the Hornets want to end that cycle, it'll have to start with defense.
Charlotte posted its highest offensive rating in franchise history and finished eighth overall in the NBA, but the defense continued to lag behind. Charlotte ranked 22nd in defense among the league&rsquo;s 30 teams.
The loss to the Hawks illustrated the dire need for a rim protector and better man-to-man defense on the perimeter.
&ldquo;We need to become more curious about how to guard," coach James Borrego said. &ldquo;We need to get better defensively by watching the best teams do it and learning from them and watching these (playoff) series.&rdquo;
Miles Bridges agreed with his coach, adding that he'd like to see the Hornets add an inside presence.
&ldquo;We have been saying this for the last few years, we have to get better on defense," Bridges said. "We can't keep saying it. We have to actually make it happen.&rdquo;
BRIDGES' FUTURE
The biggest personnel question heading into the offseason revolves around Bridges' future. He's a restricted free agent who's expected to command big money come July.
Bridges confirmed reports that he turned down a lucrative $60 million contract extension offer from the Hornets last year, hoping to prove he was worth even more with a big season. He did just that, averaging a career-high 20.2 points and 7 rebounds per game.
Borrego admitted he didn't foresee Bridges making this big of a leap.
The Hornets will have the option to match any offer made to Bridges by another team once he becomes a free agent, providing they make him a qualifying offer.
&ldquo;I anticipate him being back with us," Borrego said. "He&rsquo;s a major part of this core, we love him. He&rsquo;s a major part of this franchise.&rdquo;
Said Bridges: &ldquo;I mean I would love to come back, for sure. But I don't even worry about that stuff. I let my agent worry about it.&rdquo;
BALL WILL BE NO. 1
All-Star LaMelo Ball said he expects to be wearing a No. 1 jersey next season instead of the No. 2 he's donned the first two seasons in the league.
Ball petitioned the NBA for a number change, and said he's been told it has been granted.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s supposed to happen,&rdquo; Ball said. &ldquo;I ain&rsquo;t ever supposed to wear No. 2 again. If I see a No. 2 next year, I don&rsquo;t know what I&rsquo;m going to do, for real.&rdquo;
Ball took No. 2 coming into the league because Malik Monk was wearing No. 1 for the Hornets at the time. Ball attempted to change numbers last year, but missed the deadline.
Ball said he's always felt &ldquo;weird&rdquo; wearing No. 2.
&ldquo;You don&rsquo;t feel like you&rsquo;re playing for real,&rdquo; Ball said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know who this is. I don&rsquo;t know who No. 2 is.&rdquo;
PLUMLEE'S SHOT
Midway through his ninth NBA season, Hornets center Mason Plumlee abruptly and boldly decided to make a huge shift from free throws and shooting jump shots with his left hand instead of his right hand amid a tremendous slump.
Plumlee said he plans to continue shooting lefthanded next season &mdash; even though he looks extremely awkward doing so.
&ldquo;I'm going to stick with the left,&rdquo; Plumlee said. &ldquo;It feels good. I know the practice shooting is really good. I know it was an in-the-moment thing, but I'm happy with it."
HAYWARD'S STATUS
Gordon Hayward missed 22 games with a sprained ankle before returning for one game late in the season. But that return was cut short after Hayward experienced pain in the same left foot.
It turns out Hayward had a bone chip in the foot that was preventing him from getting back to full speed. He strolled into the press room on Thursday on a knee scooter, his lower left leg in a hard cast.
&ldquo;After talking to the doctors they felt like the best way to get this thing to heal would be to cast it and basically get off of it,&rdquo; Hayward said.
The 32-year-old small forward expects to be ready next season.
BIRD WATCHING
It turns out the Hornets can still have a chance to get a big win in the play-in tournament.
If Pelicans beat the Clippers on Friday night, Charlotte gets New Orleans' first-round draft pick this year (No. 15 overall) as part of the trade that sent Devonte Graham to the Big Easy. If the Pelicans lose, the Hornets get New Orleans' second round picks in 2022 and 2024 instead.

While the Charlotte Hornets improved their win total by 10 games over last year&rsquo;s abbreviated 72-game season, the end result was the same: an embarrassing blowout loss in the play-in tournament.
Despite winning 43 games, the Hornets finished in 10th place in the Eastern Conference and <a href="https://apnews.com/article/miami-heat-charlotte-hornets-cleveland-cavaliers-atlanta-hawks-nba-3ecd373854232ff01332ae4f7cdd455b">lost 132-103 on Wednesday night to the Atlanta Hawks</a>. Charlotte lost by 27 points to Indiana in last year's play-in tournament as the 10 seed.
If the Hornets want to end that cycle, it'll have to start with defense.
Charlotte posted its highest offensive rating in franchise history and finished eighth overall in the NBA, but the defense continued to lag behind. Charlotte ranked 22nd in defense among the league&rsquo;s 30 teams.
The loss to the Hawks illustrated the dire need for a rim protector and better man-to-man defense on the perimeter.
&ldquo;We need to become more curious about how to guard," coach James Borrego said. &ldquo;We need to get better defensively by watching the best teams do it and learning from them and watching these (playoff) series.&rdquo;
Miles Bridges agreed with his coach, adding that he'd like to see the Hornets add an inside presence.
&ldquo;We have been saying this for the last few years, we have to get better on defense," Bridges said. "We can't keep saying it. We have to actually make it happen.&rdquo;
BRIDGES' FUTURE
The biggest personnel question heading into the offseason revolves around Bridges' future. He's a restricted free agent who's expected to command big money come July.
Bridges confirmed reports that he turned down a lucrative $60 million contract extension offer from the Hornets last year, hoping to prove he was worth even more with a big season. He did just that, averaging a career-high 20.2 points and 7 rebounds per game.
Borrego admitted he didn't foresee Bridges making this big of a leap.
The Hornets will have the option to match any offer made to Bridges by another team once he becomes a free agent, providing they make him a qualifying offer.
&ldquo;I anticipate him being back with us," Borrego said. "He&rsquo;s a major part of this core, we love him. He&rsquo;s a major part of this franchise.&rdquo;
Said Bridges: &ldquo;I mean I would love to come back, for sure. But I don't even worry about that stuff. I let my agent worry about it.&rdquo;
BALL WILL BE NO. 1
All-Star LaMelo Ball said he expects to be wearing a No. 1 jersey next season instead of the No. 2 he's donned the first two seasons in the league.
Ball petitioned the NBA for a number change, and said he's been told it has been granted.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s supposed to happen,&rdquo; Ball said. &ldquo;I ain&rsquo;t ever supposed to wear No. 2 again. If I see a No. 2 next year, I don&rsquo;t know what I&rsquo;m going to do, for real.&rdquo;
Ball took No. 2 coming into the league because Malik Monk was wearing No. 1 for the Hornets at the time. Ball attempted to change numbers last year, but missed the deadline.
Ball said he's always felt &ldquo;weird&rdquo; wearing No. 2.
&ldquo;You don&rsquo;t feel like you&rsquo;re playing for real,&rdquo; Ball said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know who this is. I don&rsquo;t know who No. 2 is.&rdquo;
PLUMLEE'S SHOT
Midway through his ninth NBA season, Hornets center Mason Plumlee abruptly and boldly decided to make a huge shift from free throws and shooting jump shots with his left hand instead of his right hand amid a tremendous slump.
Plumlee said he plans to continue shooting lefthanded next season &mdash; even though he looks extremely awkward doing so.
&ldquo;I'm going to stick with the left,&rdquo; Plumlee said. &ldquo;It feels good. I know the practice shooting is really good. I know it was an in-the-moment thing, but I'm happy with it."
HAYWARD'S STATUS
Gordon Hayward missed 22 games with a sprained ankle before returning for one game late in the season. But that return was cut short after Hayward experienced pain in the same left foot.
It turns out Hayward had a bone chip in the foot that was preventing him from getting back to full speed. He strolled into the press room on Thursday on a knee scooter, his lower left leg in a hard cast.
&ldquo;After talking to the doctors they felt like the best way to get this thing to heal would be to cast it and basically get off of it,&rdquo; Hayward said.
The 32-year-old small forward expects to be ready next season.
BIRD WATCHING
It turns out the Hornets can still have a chance to get a big win in the play-in tournament.
If Pelicans beat the Clippers on Friday night, Charlotte gets New Orleans' first-round draft pick this year (No. 15 overall) as part of the trade that sent Devonte Graham to the Big Easy. If the Pelicans lose, the Hornets get New Orleans' second round picks in 2022 and 2024 instead.

Charlotte posted its highest Offensive Rating in franchise history and finished eighth in the NBA, but the defense continued to lag behind.

Hornets need defense, rim protection to take the next step

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Kyrie Irving hit nine 3-pointers and scored a season-high 50 points, and the Brooklyn Nets snapped a four-game skid with a 132-121 win over the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday night.
Irving became one of 22 players in NBA history with five 50-point games, according to Basketball Reference. His career high is 57 points on March, 12, 2015, while with the Cleveland Cavaliers in an overtime win against San Antonio.
Andre Drummond dominated inside, finishing with 20 points and 14 rebounds for Brooklyn, which got back to .500 on the season and moved into sole possession of eighth place in the Eastern Conference standings, breaking a tie with the Hornets.
Miles Bridges and Terry Rozier each finished with 30 points for Charlotte, which had its two-game win streak snapped. LaMelo Ball added 24 points and seven assists.
Kevin Durant had a quiet night by his lofty standards, finishing with 14 points. 
But he didn't have to do much lifting with Irving taking control most of the game. Irving finished 15 of 19 from the field and 9 of 12 from beyond the arc. He also was 11 of 13 from the line.
The Nets bolted to a 69-43 lead behind Irving's 20 points in the first half and a dominating inside performance from Drummond, who had 13 points and six boards at the break. The Hornets didn't help themselves, repeatedly committing turnovers with lazy passes, including two by Ball on back-to-back possessions.
Brooklyn led by 34 points in the second half before the Hornets cut the lead to 13 with less than four minutes left in the game. But Irving, as he'd done throughout the second half, knocked down a jumper to thwart the rally.
TIP INS
Nets: Kevin Durant was assessed a technical foul in the third quarter for pushing Terry Rozier while trying to free himself up for an inbounds pass. ... Seth Curry picked up a technical for arguing a call.
Hornets: Jalen McDaniels, who had been out since Jan. 21 with an ankle injury, returned to action. He played nine minutes and had two points. ... Montrezl Harrell was assessed a technical foul when he shoved Nic Claxton.
UP NEXT
Nets: At Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday night.
Hornets: Host Boston Celtics on Wednesday night. 
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Kyrie Irving hit nine 3-pointers and scored a season-high 50 points, and the Brooklyn Nets snapped a four-game skid with a 132-121 win over the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday night.
Irving became one of 22 players in NBA history with five 50-point games, according to Basketball Reference. His career high is 57 points on March, 12, 2015, while with the Cleveland Cavaliers in an overtime win against San Antonio.
Andre Drummond dominated inside, finishing with 20 points and 14 rebounds for Brooklyn, which got back to .500 on the season and moved into sole possession of eighth place in the Eastern Conference standings, breaking a tie with the Hornets.
Miles Bridges and Terry Rozier each finished with 30 points for Charlotte, which had its two-game win streak snapped. LaMelo Ball added 24 points and seven assists.
Kevin Durant had a quiet night by his lofty standards, finishing with 14 points.
But he didn't have to do much lifting with Irving taking control most of the game. Irving finished 15 of 19 from the field and 9 of 12 from beyond the arc. He also was 11 of 13 from the line.
The Nets bolted to a 69-43 lead behind Irving's 20 points in the first half and a dominating inside performance from Drummond, who had 13 points and six boards at the break. The Hornets didn't help themselves, repeatedly committing turnovers with lazy passes, including two by Ball on back-to-back possessions.
Brooklyn led by 34 points in the second half before the Hornets cut the lead to 13 with less than four minutes left in the game. But Irving, as he'd done throughout the second half, knocked down a jumper to thwart the rally.
TIP INS
Nets: Kevin Durant was assessed a technical foul in the third quarter for pushing Terry Rozier while trying to free himself up for an inbounds pass. ... Seth Curry picked up a technical for arguing a call.
Hornets: Jalen McDaniels, who had been out since Jan. 21 with an ankle injury, returned to action. He played nine minutes and had two points. ... Montrezl Harrell was assessed a technical foul when he shoved Nic Claxton.
UP NEXT
Nets: At Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday night.
Hornets: Host Boston Celtics on Wednesday night.
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Kyrie Irving hit nine 3-pointers and scored a season-high 50 points, and the Brooklyn Nets snapped a four-game skid with a 132-121 win over the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday night.
Irving became one of 22 players in NBA history with five 50-point games, according to Basketball Reference. His career high is 57 points on March, 12, 2015, while with the Cleveland Cavaliers in an overtime win against San Antonio.
Andre Drummond dominated inside, finishing with 20 points and 14 rebounds for Brooklyn, which got back to .500 on the season and moved into sole possession of eighth place in the Eastern Conference standings, breaking a tie with the Hornets.
Miles Bridges and Terry Rozier each finished with 30 points for Charlotte, which had its two-game win streak snapped. LaMelo Ball added 24 points and seven assists.
Kevin Durant had a quiet night by his lofty standards, finishing with 14 points.
But he didn't have to do much lifting with Irving taking control most of the game. Irving finished 15 of 19 from the field and 9 of 12 from beyond the arc. He also was 11 of 13 from the line.
The Nets bolted to a 69-43 lead behind Irving's 20 points in the first half and a dominating inside performance from Drummond, who had 13 points and six boards at the break. The Hornets didn't help themselves, repeatedly committing turnovers with lazy passes, including two by Ball on back-to-back possessions.
Brooklyn led by 34 points in the second half before the Hornets cut the lead to 13 with less than four minutes left in the game. But Irving, as he'd done throughout the second half, knocked down a jumper to thwart the rally.
TIP INS
Nets: Kevin Durant was assessed a technical foul in the third quarter for pushing Terry Rozier while trying to free himself up for an inbounds pass. ... Seth Curry picked up a technical for arguing a call.
Hornets: Jalen McDaniels, who had been out since Jan. 21 with an ankle injury, returned to action. He played nine minutes and had two points. ... Montrezl Harrell was assessed a technical foul when he shoved Nic Claxton.
UP NEXT
Nets: At Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday night.
Hornets: Host Boston Celtics on Wednesday night.

Kyrie Irving hit nine threes and scored a season-high 50 points, and the Nets snapped a four-game skid with the win.

Kyrie Irving scores 50, Nets beat Hornets to snap 4-game skid

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Joel Embiid had a season-high 43 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists, and the Philadelphia 76ers held off the short-handed Charlotte Hornets 127-124 in overtime on Monday night.
Tobias Harris returned from a one-game absence due to illness and had 21 points and 11 rebounds as the 76ers shot 52.9% from the field and earned back-to-back wins for the first time since Nov. 4-6.
Kelly Oubre Jr. had 35 points with six 3-pointers for the Hornets, but missed a 3 at the end of the first overtime that would have tied the game and sent it to a second extra period.
Charlotte played without five players, including starters Lamelo Ball, Terry Rozier and Mason Plumlee because of NBA health and safety protocols.
After a tight, back-and-forth fourth quarter, Embiid tied the game with 18-footer with 29.4 seconds left.
Miles Bridges missed a step-back 3 as the shot clock was winding down on Charlotte's next possession, giving the 76ers a chance to win the game on the final possession of regulation. But, Embiid's fall-away jumper didn't drop.
Embiid had six of Philadelphia's eight points in overtime. The 76ers led by three when Shake Milton turned the ball over on a inbounds pass near half court with 12.7 seconds left. 
Hornets coach James Borrego called a timeout to set up a play, but the ball got knocked out of bounds with 6.4 seconds left. Charlotte tried again, and this time got the ball to Oubre, whose 3-pointer from the top of the key hit the back iron, bounced high in the air, hit the rim again and bounced away. Embiid grabbed the rebound to secure the win.
The Hornets, who played only eight players, were 2 of 9 from the field in overtime.
CAREER HIGHS 
Hornets' second-year center Nick Richards got the start for Plumlee and had a career-high 12 points. Rookie guard James Bouknight also had a career-best 11 points for Charlotte.
TIP-INS
76ers: Tyrese Maxey (illness) did not play.
Hornets: Ish Smith became the fifth Hornets player to be placed into the health and safety protocols on Monday, leaving the team without its top three points guards. Cody Martin had to fill in as the starting point guard. ... Rookie JT Thor got a rise from the crowd when he dropped the hammer with a flying one-handed dunk over 6-foot-10 center Andre Drummond in the first quarter. ... Bridges and Oubre made 3-pointers in the final 2.5 seconds of the first half. 
UP NEXT
The teams meet again Wednesday night in Charlotte. 
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Joel Embiid posted 43 points and 15 rebounds to lead the 76ers to a 127-124 OT win over the Charlotte Hornets.

Embiid scores 43, 76ers hold off pesky Hornets 127-124 in OT

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Terry Rozier sought out Charlotte Hornets teammate Mason Plumlee, the team's 7-foot center, after Sunday night's game and joked that he plans to handle all jump balls going forward.
Rozier outleaped Draymond Green on a late jump ball and also made two key free throws to help the Hornets snap the Golden State Warriors&rsquo; winning streak at seven, 106-102 on Sunday night.
Rozier finished with 20 points &mdash; all in the second half &mdash; Miles Bridges had 22, LaMelo Ball added 21, and Cody Martin had 12 points and eight rebounds. The Hornets improved to 8-7, winning three straight after a five-game skid.
&ldquo;This says a lot for our team and where we are headed,&rdquo; Rozier said. &ldquo;We are trying to go places and get our organization like theirs. This is a great step to where we think we want to go.&rdquo;
With the Hornets leading by two, Green and Andre Iguodala trapped Rozier near the sideline at midcourt with 15.3 seconds left, forcing a jump ball.
Given the size discrepancy, it looked as if Warriors would get the ball back and have a chance to win or send the game into overtime, but the 6-foot-1 Rozier outleaped the 6-foot-6 Green and the Hornets controlled the tip, with Jalen McDaniels coming down with the ball.
The Warriors were forced to quickly foul and Rozier made both free throws with 12.7 seconds to make it a two-possession game. Golden State missed its final two shots.
&ldquo;I think it is more like the timing of the ball,&rdquo; Rozier said. &ldquo;... I definitely wanted it because I had just turned the ball over and it was like everybody in the whole gym was looking at No. 3. I just wanted to try to make a play for our team and it worked out.&rdquo;
Green said the official was still talking to him and Rozier when he threw the ball up in the air, and he was caught off-guard.
&ldquo;He was like, 'I'm going to throw the ball all the way to the top, it's going all the way...' and then boom!'" Green said. &ldquo;And I'm like, &lsquo;Oh, (crap)!&rsquo; But like I said, I have to get that jump regardless of the situation.&rdquo;
Andrew Wiggins scored 28 points on 12-of-19 shooting for Golden State, and Stephen Curry added 24 points and 10 assists in his annual homecoming game. Coming off an eight-game homestand, the Warriors dropped to 11-2.
The game featured 25 lead changes and neither team led by more than seven points.
The intensity picked up after Charlotte's Kelly Oubre Jr. was charged with a double-technical and ejected early in the fourth quarter after complaining to an official about a non-call on a driving layup.
It went back and forth from there, with both sides chirping at the officials.
Crew chief David Guthrie said Oubre was ejected because of two separate unsportsmanlike acts.
&ldquo;The first technical foul was for an overt unsportsmanlike action indicating resentment to a no call,&rdquo; Guthrie said on the NBA pool report. "The second technical was for an unsportsmanlike wave off directed towards the official.&rdquo;
The left-handed shooting Bridges once again led the Hornets in scoring, and it was the forward's right-hand hook shot in the lane with 39 seconds left that gave Charlotte the lead for good.
CURRY RETURNS
It was a packed house at the Spectrum Center to see Curry, who grew up in Charlotte and played at Davidson College.
Curry gave the crowd something to cheer about when he made a steal in the front court and then launched a no-look, over-the-head pass up the court that hit Jordan Poole in stride for a breakaway dunk. Curry also connected on a 37-foot buzzer-beater at the end of the third quarter to give the Warriors the lead.
But Curry wasn't happy with his own shot selection in the second half.
&ldquo;I got roped into a little bit trying to go for those daggers a couple of times when I didn't really have it,&rdquo; Curry said. &ldquo;So it's a good learning lesson in the early part of the season, especially on the road.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Warriors: Are the only team in the NBA to score 100 points in every game this season. ... Jonathan Kuminga had a career-high nine points. ... Green drew a technical foul in the first half.
Hornets: Bridges made the mistake of fouling Kuminga on a half-court heave at the end of the first half, sending the big man to the line. But Kuminga only made 1 of 3 foul shots. ... Ball was assessed a technical foul in the second half.
UP NEXT
Warriors: At Brooklyn on Tuesday night.
Hornets: Host Washington on Wednesday night.
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Terry Rozier sought out Charlotte Hornets teammate Mason Plumlee, the team's 7-foot center, after Sunday night's game and joked that he plans to handle all jump balls going forward.
Rozier outleaped Draymond Green on a late jump ball and also made two key free throws to help the Hornets snap the Golden State Warriors&rsquo; winning streak at seven, 106-102 on Sunday night.
Rozier finished with 20 points &mdash; all in the second half &mdash; Miles Bridges had 22, LaMelo Ball added 21, and Cody Martin had 12 points and eight rebounds. The Hornets improved to 8-7, winning three straight after a five-game skid.
&ldquo;This says a lot for our team and where we are headed,&rdquo; Rozier said. &ldquo;We are trying to go places and get our organization like theirs. This is a great step to where we think we want to go.&rdquo;
With the Hornets leading by two, Green and Andre Iguodala trapped Rozier near the sideline at midcourt with 15.3 seconds left, forcing a jump ball.
Given the size discrepancy, it looked as if Warriors would get the ball back and have a chance to win or send the game into overtime, but the 6-foot-1 Rozier outleaped the 6-foot-6 Green and the Hornets controlled the tip, with Jalen McDaniels coming down with the ball.
The Warriors were forced to quickly foul and Rozier made both free throws with 12.7 seconds to make it a two-possession game. Golden State missed its final two shots.
&ldquo;I think it is more like the timing of the ball,&rdquo; Rozier said. &ldquo;...I definitely wanted it because I had just turned the ball over and it was like everybody in the whole gym was looking at No. 3. I just wanted to try to make a play for our team and it worked out.&rdquo;
Green said the official was still talking to him and Rozier when he threw the ball up in the air, and he was caught off-guard.
&ldquo;He was like, 'I'm going to throw the ball all the way to the top, it's going all the way...' and then boom!'" Green said. &ldquo;And I'm like, &lsquo;Oh, (crap)!&rsquo; But like I said, I have to get that jump regardless of the situation.&rdquo;
Andrew Wiggins scored 28 points on 12-of-19 shooting for Golden State, and Stephen Curry added 24 points and 10 assists in his annual homecoming game. Coming off an eight-game homestand, the Warriors dropped to 11-2.
The game featured 25 lead changes and neither team led by more than seven points.
The intensity picked up after Charlotte's Kelly Oubre Jr. was charged with a double-technical and ejected early in the fourth quarter after complaining to an official about a non-call on a driving layup.
It went back and forth from there, with both sides chirping at the officials.
Crew chief David Guthrie said Oubre was ejected because of two separate unsportsmanlike acts.
&ldquo;The first technical foul was for an overt unsportsmanlike action indicating resentment to a no call,&rdquo; Guthrie said on the NBA pool report. "The second technical was for an unsportsmanlike wave off directed towards the official.&rdquo;
The left-handed shooting Bridges once again led the Hornets in scoring, and it was the forward's right-hand hook shot in the lane with 39 seconds left that gave Charlotte the lead for good.
CURRY RETURNS
It was a packed house at the Spectrum Center to see Curry, who grew up in Charlotte and played at Davidson College.
Curry gave the crowd something to cheer about when he made a steal in the front court and then launched a no-look, over-the-head pass up the court that hit Jordan Poole in stride for a breakaway dunk. Curry also connected on a 37-foot buzzer-beater at the end of the third quarter to give the Warriors the lead.
But Curry wasn't happy with his own shot selection in the second half.
&ldquo;I got roped into a little bit trying to go for those daggers a couple of times when I didn't really have it,&rdquo; Curry said. &ldquo;So it's a good learning lesson in the early part of the season, especially on the road.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Warriors: Are the only team in the NBA to score 100 points in every game this season. ... Jonathan Kuminga had a career-high nine points. ... Green drew a technical foul in the first half.
Hornets: Bridges made the mistake of fouling Kuminga on a half-court heave at the end of the first half, sending the big man to the line. But Kuminga only made 1 of 3 foul shots. ... Ball was assessed a technical foul in the second half.
UP NEXT
Warriors: At Brooklyn on Tuesday night.
Hornets: Host Washington on Wednesday night.
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Terry Rozier sought out Charlotte Hornets teammate Mason Plumlee, the team's 7-foot center, after Sunday night's game and joked that he plans to handle all jump balls going forward.
Rozier outleaped Draymond Green on a late jump ball and also made two key free throws to help the Hornets snap the Golden State Warriors&rsquo; winning streak at seven, 106-102 on Sunday night.
Rozier finished with 20 points &mdash; all in the second half &mdash; Miles Bridges had 22, LaMelo Ball added 21, and Cody Martin had 12 points and eight rebounds. The Hornets improved to 8-7, winning three straight after a five-game skid.
&ldquo;This says a lot for our team and where we are headed,&rdquo; Rozier said. &ldquo;We are trying to go places and get our organization like theirs. This is a great step to where we think we want to go.&rdquo;
With the Hornets leading by two, Green and Andre Iguodala trapped Rozier near the sideline at midcourt with 15.3 seconds left, forcing a jump ball.
Given the size discrepancy, it looked as if Warriors would get the ball back and have a chance to win or send the game into overtime, but the 6-foot-1 Rozier outleaped the 6-foot-6 Green and the Hornets controlled the tip, with Jalen McDaniels coming down with the ball.
The Warriors were forced to quickly foul and Rozier made both free throws with 12.7 seconds to make it a two-possession game. Golden State missed its final two shots.
&ldquo;I think it is more like the timing of the ball,&rdquo; Rozier said. &ldquo;...I definitely wanted it because I had just turned the ball over and it was like everybody in the whole gym was looking at No. 3. I just wanted to try to make a play for our team and it worked out.&rdquo;
Green said the official was still talking to him and Rozier when he threw the ball up in the air, and he was caught off-guard.
&ldquo;He was like, 'I'm going to throw the ball all the way to the top, it's going all the way...' and then boom!'" Green said. &ldquo;And I'm like, &lsquo;Oh, (crap)!&rsquo; But like I said, I have to get that jump regardless of the situation.&rdquo;
Andrew Wiggins scored 28 points on 12-of-19 shooting for Golden State, and Stephen Curry added 24 points and 10 assists in his annual homecoming game. Coming off an eight-game homestand, the Warriors dropped to 11-2.
The game featured 25 lead changes and neither team led by more than seven points.
The intensity picked up after Charlotte's Kelly Oubre Jr. was charged with a double-technical and ejected early in the fourth quarter after complaining to an official about a non-call on a driving layup. Oubre spent last season with Golden State before signing with the Hornets in the offseason.
It went back and forth from there, with both sides chirping at the officials.
Crew chief David Guthrie said Oubre was ejected because of two separate unsportsmanlike acts.
&ldquo;The first technical foul was for an overt unsportsmanlike action indicating resentment to a no call,&rdquo; Guthrie said on the NBA pool report. "The second technical was for an unsportsmanlike wave off directed towards the official.&rdquo;
The left-handed shooting Bridges once again led the Hornets in scoring, and it was the forward's right-hand hook shot in the lane with 39 seconds left that gave Charlotte the lead for good.
CURRY RETURNS
It was a packed house at the Spectrum Center to see Curry, who grew up in Charlotte and played at Davidson College.
Curry gave the crowd something to cheer about when he made a steal in the front court and then launched a no-look, over-the-head pass up the court that hit Jordan Poole in stride for a breakaway dunk. Curry also connected on a 37-foot buzzer-beater at the end of the third quarter to give the Warriors the lead.
But Curry wasn't happy with his own shot selection in the second half.
&ldquo;I got roped into a little bit trying to go for those daggers a couple of times when I didn't really have it,&rdquo; Curry said. &ldquo;So it's a good learning lesson in the early part of the season, especially on the road.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Warriors: Are the only team in the NBA to score 100 points in every game this season. ... Jonathan Kuminga had a career-high nine points. ... Green drew a technical foul in the first half.
Hornets: Bridges made the mistake of fouling Kuminga on a half-court heave at the end of the first half, sending the big man to the line. But Kuminga only made 1 of 3 foul shots. ... Ball was assessed a technical foul in the second half.
UP NEXT
Warriors: At Brooklyn on Tuesday night.
Hornets: Host Washington on Wednesday night.
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Terry Rozier sought out Charlotte Hornets teammate Mason Plumlee, the team's 7-foot center, after Sunday night's game and joked that he plans to handle all jump balls going forward.
Rozier outleaped Draymond Green on a late jump ball and also made two key free throws to help the Hornets snap the Golden State Warriors&rsquo; winning streak at seven, 106-102 on Sunday night.
Rozier finished with 20 points &mdash; all in the second half &mdash; Miles Bridges had 22, LaMelo Ball added 21, and Cody Martin had 12 points and eight rebounds. The Hornets improved to 8-7, winning three straight after a five-game skid.
&ldquo;This says a lot for our team and where we are headed,&rdquo; Rozier said. &ldquo;We are trying to go places and get our organization like theirs. This is a great step to where we think we want to go.&rdquo;
With the Hornets leading by two, Green and Andre Iguodala trapped Rozier near the sideline at midcourt with 15.3 seconds left, forcing a jump ball.
Given the size discrepancy, it looked as if Warriors would get the ball back and have a chance to win or send the game into overtime, but the 6-foot-1 Rozier outleaped the 6-foot-6 Green and the Hornets controlled the tip, with Jalen McDaniels coming down with the ball.
The Warriors were forced to quickly foul and Rozier made both free throws with 12.7 seconds to make it a two-possession game. Golden State missed its final two shots.
&ldquo;I think it is more like the timing of the ball,&rdquo; Rozier said. &ldquo;...I definitely wanted it because I had just turned the ball over and it was like everybody in the whole gym was looking at No. 3. I just wanted to try to make a play for our team and it worked out.&rdquo;
Green said the official was still talking to him and Rozier when he threw the ball up in the air, and he was caught off-guard.
&ldquo;He was like, 'I'm going to throw the ball all the way to the top, it's going all the way...' and then boom!'" Green said. &ldquo;And I'm like, &lsquo;Oh, (crap)!&rsquo; But like I said, I have to get that jump regardless of the situation.&rdquo;
Andrew Wiggins scored 28 points on 12-of-19 shooting for Golden State, and Stephen Curry added 24 points and 10 assists in his annual homecoming game. Coming off an eight-game homestand, the Warriors dropped to 11-2.
The game featured 25 lead changes and neither team led by more than seven points.
The intensity picked up after Charlotte's Kelly Oubre Jr. was charged with a double-technical and ejected early in the fourth quarter after complaining to an official about a non-call on a driving layup. Oubre spent last season with Golden State before signing with the Hornets last offseason.
It went back and forth from there, with both sides chirping at the officials.
Crew chief David Guthrie said Oubre was ejected because of two separate unsportsmanlike acts.
&ldquo;The first technical foul was for an overt unsportsmanlike action indicating resentment to a no call,&rdquo; Guthrie said on the NBA pool report. "The second technical was for an unsportsmanlike wave off directed towards the official.&rdquo;
The left-handed-shooting Bridges once again led the Hornets in scoring, and it was the forward's right-hand hook shot in the lane with 39 seconds left that gave Charlotte the lead for good.
CURRY RETURNS
It was a packed house at the Spectrum Center to see Curry, who grew up in Charlotte and played at Davidson College.
Curry gave the crowd something to cheer about when he made a steal in the front court and then launched a no-look, over-the-head pass up the court that hit Jordan Poole in stride for a breakaway dunk. Curry also connected on a 37-foot buzzer-beater at the end of the third quarter to give the Warriors the lead.
But Curry wasn't happy with his own shot selection in the second half.
&ldquo;I got roped into a little bit trying to go for those daggers a couple of times when I didn't really have it,&rdquo; Curry said. &ldquo;So it's a good learning lesson in the early part of the season, especially on the road.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Warriors: Are the only team in the NBA to score 100 points in every game this season. ... Jonathan Kuminga had a career-high nine points. ... Green drew a technical foul in the first half.
Hornets: Bridges made the mistake of fouling Kuminga on a half-court heave at the end of the first half, sending the big man to the line. But Kuminga only made 1 of 3 foul shots. ... Ball was assessed a technical foul in the second half.
UP NEXT
Warriors: At Brooklyn on Tuesday night.
Hornets: Host Washington on Wednesday night.
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Terry Rozier sought out Charlotte Hornets teammate Mason Plumlee, the team's 7-foot center, after Sunday night's game and joked that he plans to handle all jump balls going forward.
Rozier outleaped Draymond Green on a late jump ball and also made two key free throws to help the Hornets snap the Golden State Warriors&rsquo; winning streak at seven, 106-102 on Sunday night.
Rozier finished with 20 points &mdash; all in the second half &mdash; Miles Bridges had 22, LaMelo Ball added 21, and Cody Martin had 12 points and eight rebounds. The Hornets improved to 8-7, winning three straight after a five-game skid.
&ldquo;This says a lot for our team and where we are headed,&rdquo; Rozier said. &ldquo;We are trying to go places and get our organization like theirs. This is a great step to where we think we want to go.&rdquo;
With the Hornets leading by two, Green and Andre Iguodala trapped Rozier near the sideline at midcourt with 15.3 seconds left, forcing a jump ball.
Given the size discrepancy, it looked as if Warriors would get the ball back and have a chance to win or send the game into overtime, but the 6-foot-1 Rozier outleaped the 6-foot-6 Green and the Hornets controlled the tip, with Jalen McDaniels coming down with the ball.
The Warriors were forced to quickly foul and Rozier made both free throws with 12.7 seconds to make it a two-possession game. Golden State missed its final two shots.
&ldquo;I think it is more like the timing of the ball,&rdquo; Rozier said. &ldquo;...I definitely wanted it because I had just turned the ball over and it was like everybody in the whole gym was looking at No. 3. I just wanted to try to make a play for our team and it worked out.&rdquo;
Green said the official was still talking to him and Rozier when he threw the ball up in the air, and he was caught off-guard.
&ldquo;He was like, 'I'm going to throw the ball all the way to the top, it's going all the way...' and then boom!'" Green said. &ldquo;And I'm like, &lsquo;Oh, (crap)!&rsquo; But like I said, I have to get that jump regardless of the situation.&rdquo;
Andrew Wiggins scored 28 points on 12-of-19 shooting for Golden State, and Stephen Curry added 24 points and 10 assists in his annual homecoming game. Coming off an eight-game homestand, the Warriors dropped to 11-2.
The game featured 25 lead changes and neither team led by more than seven points.
The intensity picked up after Charlotte's Kelly Oubre Jr. was charged with a double-technical and ejected early in the fourth quarter after complaining to an official about a non-call on a driving layup. Oubre spent last season with Golden State before signing with the Hornets last offseason.
It went back and forth from there, with both sides chirping at the officials.
Crew chief David Guthrie said Oubre was ejected because of two separate unsportsmanlike acts.
&ldquo;The first technical foul was for an overt unsportsmanlike action indicating resentment to a no call,&rdquo; Guthrie said on the NBA pool report. "The second technical was for an unsportsmanlike wave off directed towards the official.&rdquo;
The left-handed-shooting Bridges once again led the Hornets in scoring, and it was the forward's right-hand hook shot in the lane with 39 seconds left that gave Charlotte the lead for good.
CURRY RETURNS
It was a packed house at the Spectrum Center to see Curry, who grew up in Charlotte and played at Davidson College.
Curry gave the crowd something to cheer about when he made a steal in the front court and then launched a no-look, over-the-head pass up the court that hit Jordan Poole in stride for a breakaway dunk. Curry also connected on a 37-foot buzzer-beater at the end of the third quarter to give the Warriors the lead.
But Curry wasn't happy with his own shot selection in the second half.
&ldquo;I got roped into a little bit trying to go for those daggers a couple of times when I didn't really have it,&rdquo; Curry said. &ldquo;So it's a good learning lesson in the early part of the season, especially on the road.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Warriors: Are the only team in the NBA to score 100 points in every game this season. ... Jonathan Kuminga had a career-high nine points. ... Green drew a technical foul in the first half.
Hornets: Bridges made the mistake of fouling Kuminga on a half-court heave at the end of the first half, sending the big man to the line. But Kuminga only made 1 of 3 foul shots. ... Ball was assessed a technical foul in the second half.
UP NEXT
Warriors: At Brooklyn on Tuesday night.
Hornets: Host Washington on Wednesday night.
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Terry Rozier sought out Charlotte Hornets teammate Mason Plumlee, the team's 7-foot center, after Sunday night's game and joked that he plans to handle all jump balls going forward.
Rozier outleaped Draymond Green on a late jump ball and also made two key free throws to help the Hornets snap the Golden State Warriors&rsquo; winning streak at seven, 106-102 on Sunday night.
Rozier finished with 20 points &mdash; all in the second half &mdash; Miles Bridges had 22, LaMelo Ball added 21, and Cody Martin had 12 points and eight rebounds. The Hornets improved to 8-7, winning three straight after a five-game skid.
&ldquo;This says a lot for our team and where we are headed,&rdquo; Rozier said. &ldquo;We are trying to go places and get our organization like theirs. This is a great step to where we think we want to go.&rdquo;
With the Hornets leading by two, Green and Andre Iguodala trapped Rozier near the sideline at midcourt with 15.3 seconds left, forcing a jump ball.
Given the size discrepancy, it looked as if Warriors would get the ball back and have a chance to win or send the game into overtime, but the 6-foot-1 Rozier outleaped the 6-foot-6 Green and the Hornets controlled the tip, with Jalen McDaniels coming down with the ball.
The Warriors were forced to quickly foul and Rozier made both free throws with 12.7 seconds to make it a two-possession game. Golden State missed its final two shots.
&ldquo;I think it is more like the timing of the ball,&rdquo; Rozier said. &ldquo;...I definitely wanted it because I had just turned the ball over and it was like everybody in the whole gym was looking at No. 3. I just wanted to try to make a play for our team and it worked out.&rdquo;
Green said the official was still talking to him and Rozier when he threw the ball up in the air, and he was caught off-guard.
&ldquo;He was like, 'I'm going to throw the ball all the way to the top, it's going all the way...' and then boom!'" Green said. &ldquo;And I'm like, &lsquo;Oh, (crap)!&rsquo; But like I said, I have to get that jump regardless of the situation.&rdquo;
Andrew Wiggins scored 28 points on 12-of-19 shooting for Golden State, and Stephen Curry added 24 points and 10 assists in his annual homecoming game. Coming off an eight-game homestand, the Warriors dropped to 11-2.
The game featured 25 lead changes and neither team led by more than seven points.
The intensity picked up after Charlotte's Kelly Oubre Jr. was charged with a double-technical and ejected early in the fourth quarter after complaining to an official about a non-call on a driving layup. Oubre spent last season with Golden State before signing with the Hornets last offseason.
It went back and forth from there, with both sides chirping at the officials.
Crew chief David Guthrie said Oubre was ejected because of two separate unsportsmanlike acts.
&ldquo;The first technical foul was for an overt unsportsmanlike action indicating resentment to a no call,&rdquo; Guthrie said on the NBA pool report. "The second technical was for an unsportsmanlike wave off directed towards the official.&rdquo;
The left-handed-shooting Bridges once again led the Hornets in scoring, and it was the forward's right-hand hook shot in the lane with 39 seconds left that gave Charlotte the lead for good.
CURRY RETURNS
It was a packed house at the Spectrum Center to see Curry, who grew up in Charlotte and played at Davidson College.
Curry gave the crowd something to cheer about when he made a steal in the frontcourt and then launched a no-look, over-the-head pass up the court that hit Jordan Poole in stride for a breakaway dunk. Curry also connected on a 37-foot buzzer-beater at the end of the third quarter to give the Warriors the lead.
But Curry wasn't happy with his own shot selection in the second half.
&ldquo;I got roped into a little bit trying to go for those daggers a couple of times when I didn't really have it,&rdquo; Curry said. &ldquo;So it's a good learning lesson in the early part of the season, especially on the road.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Warriors: Are the only team in the NBA to score 100 points in every game this season. ... Jonathan Kuminga had a career-high nine points. ... Green drew a technical foul in the first half.
Hornets: Bridges made the mistake of fouling Kuminga on a half-court heave at the end of the first half, sending the big man to the line. But Kuminga only made 1 of 3 foul shots. ... Ball was assessed a technical foul in the second half.
UP NEXT
Warriors: At Brooklyn on Tuesday night.
Hornets: Host Washington on Wednesday night.
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Terry Rozier sought out Charlotte Hornets teammate Mason Plumlee, the team's 7-foot center, after Sunday night's game and joked that he plans to handle all jump balls going forward.
Rozier outleaped Draymond Green on a late jump ball and also made two key free throws to help the Hornets snap the Golden State Warriors&rsquo; winning streak at seven, 106-102 on Sunday night.
Rozier finished with 20 points &mdash; all in the second half &mdash; Miles Bridges had 22, LaMelo Ball added 21, and Cody Martin had 12 points and eight rebounds. The Hornets improved to 8-7, winning three straight after a five-game skid.
&ldquo;This says a lot for our team and where we are headed,&rdquo; Rozier said. &ldquo;We are trying to go places and get our organization like theirs. This is a great step to where we think we want to go.&rdquo;
With the Hornets leading by two, Green and Andre Iguodala trapped Rozier near the sideline at midcourt with 15.3 seconds left, forcing a jump ball.
Given the size discrepancy, it looked as if Warriors would get the ball back and have a chance to win or send the game into overtime, but the 6-foot-1 Rozier outleaped the 6-foot-6 Green and the Hornets controlled the tip, with Jalen McDaniels coming down with the ball.
The Warriors were forced to quickly foul and Rozier made both free throws with 12.7 seconds to make it a two-possession game. Golden State missed its final two shots.
&ldquo;I think it is more like the timing of the ball,&rdquo; Rozier said. &ldquo;...I definitely wanted it because I had just turned the ball over and it was like everybody in the whole gym was looking at No. 3. I just wanted to try to make a play for our team and it worked out.&rdquo;
Green said the official was still talking to him and Rozier when he threw the ball up in the air, and he was caught off-guard.
&ldquo;He was like, 'I'm going to throw the ball all the way to the top, it's going all the way...' and then boom!'" Green said. &ldquo;And I'm like, &lsquo;Oh, (crap)!&rsquo; But like I said, I have to get that jump regardless of the situation.&rdquo;
Andrew Wiggins scored 28 points on 12-of-19 shooting for Golden State, and Stephen Curry added 24 points and 10 assists in his annual homecoming game. Coming off an eight-game homestand, the Warriors dropped to 11-2.
The game featured 25 lead changes and neither team led by more than seven points.
The intensity picked up after Charlotte's Kelly Oubre Jr. was charged with a double-technical and ejected early in the fourth quarter after complaining to an official about a non-call on a driving layup. Oubre spent last season with Golden State before signing with the Hornets last offseason.
It went back and forth from there, with both sides chirping at the officials.
Crew chief David Guthrie said Oubre was ejected because of two separate unsportsmanlike acts.
&ldquo;The first technical foul was for an overt unsportsmanlike action indicating resentment to a no call,&rdquo; Guthrie said on the NBA pool report. "The second technical was for an unsportsmanlike wave off directed towards the official.&rdquo;
The left-handed-shooting Bridges once again led the Hornets in scoring, and it was the forward's right-hand hook shot in the lane with 39 seconds left that gave Charlotte the lead for good.
CURRY RETURNS
It was a packed house at the Spectrum Center to see Curry, who grew up in Charlotte and played at Davidson College.
Curry gave the crowd something to cheer about when he made a steal in the frontcourt and then launched a no-look, over-the-head pass up the court that hit Jordan Poole in stride for a breakaway dunk. Curry also connected on a 37-foot buzzer-beater at the end of the third quarter to give the Warriors the lead.
But Curry wasn't happy with his own shot selection in the second half.
&ldquo;I got roped into a little bit trying to go for those daggers a couple of times when I didn't really have it,&rdquo; Curry said. &ldquo;So it's a good learning lesson in the early part of the season, especially on the road.&rdquo;
While in town, Curry also weighed in on his favorite footba Panthers
TIP-INS
Warriors: Are the only team in the NBA to score 100 points in every game this season. ... Jonathan Kuminga had a career-high nine points. ... Green drew a technical foul in the first half.
Hornets: Bridges made the mistake of fouling Kuminga on a half-court heave at the end of the first half, sending the big man to the line. But Kuminga only made 1 of 3 foul shots. ... Ball was assessed a technical foul in the second half.
UP NEXT
Warriors: At Brooklyn on Tuesday night.
Hornets: Host Washington on Wednesday night.
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Terry Rozier sought out Charlotte Hornets teammate Mason Plumlee, the team's 7-foot center, after Sunday night's game and joked that he plans to handle all jump balls going forward.
Rozier outleaped Draymond Green on a late jump ball and also made two key free throws to help the Hornets snap the Golden State Warriors&rsquo; winning streak at seven, 106-102 on Sunday night.
Rozier finished with 20 points &mdash; all in the second half &mdash; Miles Bridges had 22, LaMelo Ball added 21, and Cody Martin had 12 points and eight rebounds. The Hornets improved to 8-7, winning three straight after a five-game skid.
&ldquo;This says a lot for our team and where we are headed,&rdquo; Rozier said. &ldquo;We are trying to go places and get our organization like theirs. This is a great step to where we think we want to go.&rdquo;
With the Hornets leading by two, Green and Andre Iguodala trapped Rozier near the sideline at midcourt with 15.3 seconds left, forcing a jump ball.
Given the size discrepancy, it looked as if Warriors would get the ball back and have a chance to win or send the game into overtime, but the 6-foot-1 Rozier outleaped the 6-foot-6 Green and the Hornets controlled the tip, with Jalen McDaniels coming down with the ball.
The Warriors were forced to quickly foul and Rozier made both free throws with 12.7 seconds to make it a two-possession game. Golden State missed its final two shots.
&ldquo;I think it is more like the timing of the ball,&rdquo; Rozier said. &ldquo;...I definitely wanted it because I had just turned the ball over and it was like everybody in the whole gym was looking at No. 3. I just wanted to try to make a play for our team and it worked out.&rdquo;
Green said the official was still talking to him and Rozier when he threw the ball up in the air, and he was caught off-guard.
&ldquo;He was like, 'I'm going to throw the ball all the way to the top, it's going all the way...' and then boom!'" Green said. &ldquo;And I'm like, &lsquo;Oh, (crap)!&rsquo; But like I said, I have to get that jump regardless of the situation.&rdquo;
Andrew Wiggins scored 28 points on 12-of-19 shooting for Golden State, and Stephen Curry added 24 points and 10 assists in his annual homecoming game. Coming off an eight-game homestand, the Warriors dropped to 11-2.
The game featured 25 lead changes and neither team led by more than seven points.
The intensity picked up after Charlotte's Kelly Oubre Jr. was charged with a double-technical and ejected early in the fourth quarter after complaining to an official about a non-call on a driving layup. Oubre spent last season with Golden State before signing with the Hornets last offseason.
It went back and forth from there, with both sides chirping at the officials.
Crew chief David Guthrie said Oubre was ejected because of two separate unsportsmanlike acts.
&ldquo;The first technical foul was for an overt unsportsmanlike action indicating resentment to a no call,&rdquo; Guthrie said on the NBA pool report. "The second technical was for an unsportsmanlike wave off directed towards the official.&rdquo;
The left-handed-shooting Bridges once again led the Hornets in scoring, and it was the forward's right-hand hook shot in the lane with 39 seconds left that gave Charlotte the lead for good.
CURRY RETURNS
It was a packed house at the Spectrum Center to see Curry, who grew up in Charlotte and played at Davidson College.
Curry gave the crowd something to cheer about when he made a steal in the frontcourt and then launched a no-look, over-the-head pass up the court that hit Jordan Poole in stride for a breakaway dunk. Curry also connected on a 37-foot buzzer-beater at the end of the third quarter to give the Warriors the lead.
But Curry wasn't happy with his own shot selection in the second half.
&ldquo;I got roped into a little bit trying to go for those daggers a couple of times when I didn't really have it,&rdquo; Curry said. &ldquo;So it's a good learning lesson in the early part of the season, especially on the road.&rdquo;
While in town, Curry also weighed in on his Panthers
TIP-INS
Warriors: Are the only team in the NBA to score 100 points in every game this season. ... Jonathan Kuminga had a career-high nine points. ... Green drew a technical foul in the first half.
Hornets: Bridges made the mistake of fouling Kuminga on a half-court heave at the end of the first half, sending the big man to the line. But Kuminga only made 1 of 3 foul shots. ... Ball was assessed a technical foul in the second half.
UP NEXT
Warriors: At Brooklyn on Tuesday night.
Hornets: Host Washington on Wednesday night.
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Terry Rozier sought out Charlotte Hornets teammate Mason Plumlee, the team's 7-foot center, after Sunday night's game and joked that he plans to handle all jump balls going forward.
Rozier outleaped Draymond Green on a late jump ball and also made two key free throws to help the Hornets snap the Golden State Warriors&rsquo; winning streak at seven, 106-102 on Sunday night.
Rozier finished with 20 points &mdash; all in the second half &mdash; Miles Bridges had 22, LaMelo Ball added 21, and Cody Martin had 12 points and eight rebounds. The Hornets improved to 8-7, winning three straight after a five-game skid.
&ldquo;This says a lot for our team and where we are headed,&rdquo; Rozier said. &ldquo;We are trying to go places and get our organization like theirs. This is a great step to where we think we want to go.&rdquo;
With the Hornets leading by two, Green and Andre Iguodala trapped Rozier near the sideline at midcourt with 15.3 seconds left, forcing a jump ball.
Given the size discrepancy, it looked as if Warriors would get the ball back and have a chance to win or send the game into overtime, but the 6-foot-1 Rozier outleaped the 6-foot-6 Green and the Hornets controlled the tip, with Jalen McDaniels coming down with the ball.
The Warriors were forced to quickly foul and Rozier made both free throws with 12.7 seconds to make it a two-possession game. Golden State missed its final two shots.
&ldquo;I think it is more like the timing of the ball,&rdquo; Rozier said. &ldquo;...I definitely wanted it because I had just turned the ball over and it was like everybody in the whole gym was looking at No. 3. I just wanted to try to make a play for our team and it worked out.&rdquo;
Green said the official was still talking to him and Rozier when he threw the ball up in the air, and he was caught off-guard.
&ldquo;He was like, 'I'm going to throw the ball all the way to the top, it's going all the way...' and then boom!'" Green said. &ldquo;And I'm like, &lsquo;Oh, (crap)!&rsquo; But like I said, I have to get that jump regardless of the situation.&rdquo;
Andrew Wiggins scored 28 points on 12-of-19 shooting for Golden State, and Stephen Curry added 24 points and 10 assists in his annual homecoming game. Coming off an eight-game homestand, the Warriors dropped to 11-2.
The game featured 25 lead changes and neither team led by more than seven points.
The intensity picked up after Charlotte's Kelly Oubre Jr. was charged with a double-technical and ejected early in the fourth quarter after complaining to an official about a non-call on a driving layup. Oubre spent last season with Golden State before signing with the Hornets last offseason.
It went back and forth from there, with both sides chirping at the officials.
Crew chief David Guthrie said Oubre was ejected because of two separate unsportsmanlike acts.
&ldquo;The first technical foul was for an overt unsportsmanlike action indicating resentment to a no call,&rdquo; Guthrie said on the NBA pool report. "The second technical was for an unsportsmanlike wave off directed towards the official.&rdquo;
The left-handed-shooting Bridges once again led the Hornets in scoring, and it was the forward's right-hand hook shot in the lane with 39 seconds left that gave Charlotte the lead for good.
CURRY RETURNS
It was a packed house at the Spectrum Center to see Curry, who grew up in Charlotte and played at Davidson College.
Curry gave the crowd something to cheer about when he made a steal in the frontcourt and then launched a no-look, over-the-head pass up the court that hit Jordan Poole in stride for a breakaway dunk. Curry also connected on a 37-foot buzzer-beater at the end of the third quarter to give the Warriors the lead.
But Curry wasn't happy with his own shot selection in the second half.
&ldquo;I got roped into a little bit trying to go for those daggers a couple of times when I didn't really have it,&rdquo; Curry said. &ldquo;So it's a good learning lesson in the early part of the season, especially on the road.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Warriors: They are the only team in the NBA to score 100 points in every game this season. ... Jonathan Kuminga had a career-high nine points. ... Green drew a technical foul in the first half.
Hornets: Bridges made the mistake of fouling Kuminga on a half-court heave at the end of the first half, sending the big man to the line. But Kuminga only made 1 of 3 foul shots. ... Ball was assessed a technical foul in the second half.
UP NEXT
Warriors: At Brooklyn on Tuesday night.
Hornets: Host Washington on Wednesday night.
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Terry Rozier sought out Charlotte Hornets teammate Mason Plumlee, the team's 7-foot center, after Sunday night's game and joked that he plans to handle all jump balls going forward.
Rozier outleaped Draymond Green on a late jump ball and also made two key free throws to help the Hornets snap the Golden State Warriors&rsquo; winning streak at seven, 106-102 on Sunday night.
Rozier finished with 20 points &mdash; all in the second half &mdash; Miles Bridges had 22, LaMelo Ball added 21, and Cody Martin had 12 points and eight rebounds. The Hornets improved to 8-7, winning three straight after a five-game skid.
&ldquo;This says a lot for our team and where we are headed,&rdquo; Rozier said. &ldquo;We are trying to go places and get our organization like theirs. This is a great step to where we think we want to go.&rdquo;
With the Hornets leading by two, Green and Andre Iguodala trapped Rozier near the sideline at midcourt with 15.3 seconds left, forcing a jump ball.
Given the size discrepancy, it looked as if Warriors would get the ball back and have a chance to win or send the game into overtime, but the 6-foot-1 Rozier outleaped the 6-foot-6 Green and the Hornets controlled the tip, with Jalen McDaniels coming down with the ball.
The Warriors were forced to quickly foul and Rozier made both free throws with 12.7 seconds to make it a two-possession game. Golden State missed its final two shots.
&ldquo;I think it is more like the timing of the ball,&rdquo; Rozier said. &ldquo;...I definitely wanted it because I had just turned the ball over and it was like everybody in the whole gym was looking at No. 3. I just wanted to try to make a play for our team and it worked out.&rdquo;
Green said the official was still talking to him and Rozier when he threw the ball up in the air, and he was caught off-guard.
&ldquo;He was like, 'I'm going to throw the ball all the way to the top, it's going all the way...' and then boom!'" Green said. &ldquo;And I'm like, &lsquo;Oh, (crap)!&rsquo; But like I said, I have to get that jump regardless of the situation.&rdquo;
Andrew Wiggins scored 28 points on 12-of-19 shooting for Golden State, and Stephen Curry added 24 points and 10 assists in his annual homecoming game. Coming off an eight-game homestand, the Warriors dropped to 11-2.
The game featured 25 lead changes and neither team led by more than seven points.
The intensity picked up after Charlotte's Kelly Oubre Jr. was charged with a double-technical and ejected early in the fourth quarter after complaining to an official about a non-call on a driving layup. Oubre spent last season with Golden State before signing with the Hornets last offseason.
It went back and forth from there, with both sides chirping at the officials.
Crew chief David Guthrie said Oubre was ejected because of two separate unsportsmanlike acts.
&ldquo;The first technical foul was for an overt unsportsmanlike action indicating resentment to a no call,&rdquo; Guthrie said on the NBA pool report. "The second technical was for an unsportsmanlike wave off directed towards the official.&rdquo;
The left-handed-shooting Bridges once again led the Hornets in scoring, and it was the forward's right-hand hook shot in the lane with 39 seconds left that gave Charlotte the lead for good.
CURRY RETURNS
It was a packed house at the Spectrum Center to see Curry, who grew up in Charlotte and played at Davidson College.
Curry gave the crowd something to cheer about when he made a steal in the frontcourt and then launched a no-look, over-the-head pass up the court that hit Jordan Poole in stride for a breakaway dunk. Curry also connected on a 37-foot buzzer-beater at the end of the third quarter to give the Warriors the lead.
But Curry wasn't happy with his own shot selection in the second half.
&ldquo;I got roped into a little bit trying to go for those daggers a couple of times when I didn't really have it,&rdquo; Curry said. &ldquo;So it's a good learning lesson in the early part of the season, especially on the road.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Warriors: They are the only team in the NBA to score 100 points in every game this season. ... Jonathan Kuminga had a career-high nine points. ... Green drew a technical foul in the first half.
Hornets: Bridges made the mistake of fouling Kuminga on a half-court heave at the end of the first half, sending the big man to the line. But Kuminga only made 1 of 3 foul shots. ... Ball was assessed a technical foul in the second half.
UP NEXT
Warriors: At Brooklyn on Tuesday night.
Hornets: Host Washington on Wednesday night.

Led by Miles Bridges, Terry Rozier and LaMelo Ball, the Charlotte Hornets defeated the Golden State Warriors 106-102 on Sunday.

Hornets beat Warriors 106-102, ending Golden State's 7-game win streak

Steve Reed is a writer for The Associated Press.