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Hornets

Objectively, Damian Lillard is as accomplished as nearly anyone in the NBA, but the legacies of all-time greats are judged against other all-time greats. Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal teases Charles Barkley on "Inside the NBA" about having won zero championships because he can. Win one, and you&rsquo;re forever a member of the club. Fail to do so, and you&rsquo;ll remain on the outside looking in.
Granted, being an all-time great is a good club to be a part of, but failing to win a championship can be utterly haunting. Just watch players like Barkley and Patrick Ewing talk about failing to win on the biggest stage. You hear regret in their voices. And pain. And there&rsquo;s nothing they can do about it.
It&rsquo;s premature to lump Lillard in with the aforementioned greats. After all, he&rsquo;s still only 31, meaning he has years remaining before we can have an honest discussion about his place amongst league legends (with or without a championship). I&rsquo;ll happily wait until he&rsquo;s retired to assess his legacy.
What I will address now is the fact that Lillard&rsquo;s inability to deliver a championship to Portland in his 10 seasons is actually not his fault. In fact, I posit that that no superstar in recent memory can be blamed less than Lillard for his team&rsquo;s shortcomings. Lillard has faced a grueling uphill battle since joining the Trail Blazers as a rookie, and his presence has resulted in Portland consistently outperforming their talent.
First, let&rsquo;s inventory how Lillard&rsquo;s Trail Blazers have fared in the postseason. In total, Portland has missed the playoffs twice since Lillard was drafted: once during his rookie year and again in 2021-22, a season in which Lillard was shut down in late December due to abdominal surgery. Had Lillard been healthy all season, his Blazers may have made their ninth consecutive postseason appearance.
Once there, Lillard is an impactful postseason player, posting 25.7 points and 6.2 assists per game in 12 career postseason series. Across his playoff career, he&rsquo;s shot 41.2% from the field, 36.9% on threes and 88.7% on free throws. He&rsquo;s also had several epic shots that were either game-winners or series-enders, which probably inspired Robert Horry, an all-time great shooter himself, to recently refer to Lillard the best clutch shooter ever.
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Robert Horry calls Damian Lillard the best clutch shooter ever over Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant &ldquo;He has hit a clutch shot versus every team in the NBA.&rdquo;<a href="https://t.co/lg34EjTZNB">https://t.co/lg34EjTZNB</a>
&mdash; NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheNBACentral/status/1525203234650050562?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 13, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Despite his heroics, Lillard&rsquo;s Trail Blazers have never reached the NBA Finals. They did succeed in reaching the Western Conference Finals once in 2019. They ultimately lost to the Golden State Warriors. They also lost to the eventual champion San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Semifinals in 2014, the 73-9 Warriors in the Western Conference Semifinals in 2016 and the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers in the first-round in 2020. So, four of Lillard&rsquo;s eight postseason appearances ended against either the eventual champions or the dynastic Warriors.
Like Barkley and Ewing before him, Lillard has been a victim of time and circumstance, as his prime fell right in the middle of the Golden State Warriors&rsquo; historic run. But in Lillard&rsquo;s case, his struggles have been about more than his opponents. After all, Lillard is not dominated by any one player like how Jordan dominated his era. His circumstances are more a result of his supporting cast, or lack thereof.
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Lillard&rsquo;s stance on recruiting is that he wants to remain in Portland. He&rsquo;ll assist in recruiting free agents to Rip City, but he will not entertain recruiting pitches from other teams&rsquo; stars, a fair and respectable stance. For whatever reason, Lillard has been unsuccessful in recruiting others thus far. For example, he failed to land Kelly Oubre in Portland just last summer. However, there are limited examples of a dedicated push by Lillard in recruiting. Whether he foregoes recruiting or fails at it , the result is the same, and it hurts.
But as much as Lillard could participate in team building, there is a management team that is paid a handsome salary to build the team into a legitimate contender, regardless of Lillard's recruitment style. Frankly, that front office has failed to surround Lillard with top-tier co-stars.
A quick inventory of recent NBA champions reveals that Portland&rsquo;s talent is simply insufficient. Seven of the last 10 champions had multiple All-Stars. The other three were San Antonio in 2014, Cleveland in 2016 and Milwaukee in 2021, and we know all three teams had far more talent than any Portland team. Comparatively, battling all-time great competition, Lillard&rsquo;s only active All-Star teammate has been LaMarcus Aldridge, and they only overlapped as All-Stars twice.
There is also CJ McCollum, who was the 2015-16 Most Improved Player. Despite not being named to an All-Star team, he&rsquo;s certainly been an All-Star caliber player for much of his career. He&rsquo;s even (slightly) better in the playoffs, where he&rsquo;s scored 20.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game in 13 series.
McCollum's and Aldridge&rsquo;s better seasons sadly didn&rsquo;t overlap. Aldridge&rsquo;s final season in Portland (2014-15) was McCollum&rsquo;s sophomore season, and McCollum wasn&rsquo;t yet the McCollum we've come to know.
Portland could be on to something now. Anfernee Simons could prove to be a valid backcourt mate for Lillard. The former IMG star had a breakout season last year, averaging 17.3 points per game on 40.9% on three-pointers. If Joe Ingles can regain his pre-injury form and Jusuf Nurkic can remain healthy, there are some promising pieces in the mix.
However, the Trail Blazers still need at least one more creator. Fortunately, Portland has a 37.2% chance of sneaking into the top-four in this year&rsquo;s NBA Draft. Doing so would equip them with a valuable trade chip that could deliver exactly the type of player they need and maybe get them closer to becoming NBA Champions.
Regardless as to what happens with Portland in the immediate future, a closer look at Lillard's body of work reveals just how great he really is. Soon, he may join that elusive and exclusive championship club, but even if he doesn&rsquo;t, we should be careful how we refer to his failures. Because more so than practically anyone in NBA history, not winning a championship shouldn't paint our perception of Lillard.&nbsp;
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Damian Lillard is already an all-time great. We can't ignore his postseason failures, but he can't be defined by them, either.

Damian Lillard's inability to win isn't his fault

Isaiah Thomas is back.
Well, not&nbsp;back &mdash;&nbsp;this isn't the 2016-17 campaign in which Thomas carried a Boston Celtics offense to the tune of 28.9 points (on 62.5% True Shooting) and 5.9 assists per game. But Thomas has found a home for the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/charlotte-to-sign-isaiah-thomas-for-the-rest-of-the-season" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rest of the season</a>, providing the currently-streaking Charlotte Hornets with a nice boost of offense.
Since joining the team three weeks ago, Thomas is averaging a shade under 10 points while draining 48.0% of his threes (3.6 attempts). During the Hornets' five-game winning streak, Thomas is averaging 10.8 points in 14 minutes per contest thanks to some insane shooting from deep (58.8% on 3.4 attempts).
Much like his peak days, Thomas is getting busy in the pick-and-roll.
He remains a pull-up threat, making any sort of "under" coverage nearly untenable. While not as bursty as he used to be, he's able to attack gaps and flow into floaters and push shots. His shot diet has altered since his last full-ish season with the Washington Wizards in 2019-20, with more of his shots coming at the rim or floater range (43% vs 34%) per Cleaning The Glass.
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The Hornets have scored 1.16 points per possession (PPP) on trips featuring a Thomas-led pick-and-roll, per Second Spectrum. That number rises to 1.3 on trips where Thomas and Montrezl Harrell &mdash; a violent rim-runner with an intermediate touch he can use when the rim is cut off &mdash; team up.
That two-man game is the bedrock of Charlotte's second unit, with built-in secondary options if an advantage isn't created.
A favorite as of late: a high ball-screen with Thomas and Harrell that flows into an empty corner handoff.
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Think about the options here. A switch would have Willy Hernangomez on an island against Thomas, and Jose Alvarado (fiesty!) on Harrell. Neither would be great options. Playing drop coverage would likely give Thomas a gap to pull-up into, though Alvarado is a stout on-ball defender that could make Thomas uncomfortable.&nbsp;
They instead opt to blitz, taking the ball out of Thomas' hands. But taking the ball out of his hands simply means putting it into the hands of LaMelo Ball, the Hornets' best player.&nbsp;
Giving LaMelo a roller like Harrell is a tough proposition; doing so with an empty side puts the defense in a bind like this:
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Alvarado peels over to the nail to cut off Ball's drive, but that leaves Thomas open for a catch-and-shoot opportunity. Harrell, of course, is rolling into the empty side with no help present. On the weak side, PJ Washington is in prime position to screen off his man (Naji Marshall, No. 8) or Kelly Oubre's man (Trey Murphy III, No. 25) to create a shot.&nbsp;
The Hornets don't just flow into handoffs after Thomas-led ball-screens; they can pivot to off-ball screens for shooters as well.
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This is nice movement set to get Terry Rozier a look. Jalen Brunson does a great job of staying attached, so it simply flows into a downhill attack with Mason Plumlee filling the lane.
Dwight Powell dropped back pretty far on the initial ball-screen, which ends up giving Rozier a runway to drive into. With Miles Bridges chilling in the left corner, Maxi Kleber is stuck between tagging Plumlee on the roll, or staying home on the shooter.&nbsp;
Having a threat like Thomas is incredibly annoying for defenses.
It's especially annoying when he's the first layer of a multi-pronged attack.
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Nekias Duncan breaks down the ways Isaiah Thomas is impacting the Hornets' offense.

Explain one play: Isaiah Thomas as the Hornets' tip of the spear

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Miles Bridges scored 23 points, P.J. Washington added a season-high 21 and the Charlotte Hornets routed the road-weary Dallas Mavericks 129-108 on Saturday night for their fourth straight victory.
Terry Rozier scored 18 points, and LaMelo Ball and Kelly Oubre each had 17 points for the Hornets. They shot 20 of 42 from 3-point range.
&ldquo;We knew it was going to turn around for us eventually,&rdquo; Bridges said, referring to the Hornets losing 11 of their final 13 games in February.
Luka Doncic had 37 points and eight 3s for the Mavericks, who were playing their fifth road game in eight nights and on the second night of a back-to-back. Doncic did not play in the fourth quarter with the game out of hand.
The Hornets (36-35) moved into sole possession of ninth place in the Eastern Conference, a half-game ahead of Atlanta. They are one game behind eighth-place Brooklyn.
&ldquo;We are playing well, we are playing hard and we are playing together and that&rsquo;s all I can ask for,&rdquo; Hornets coach James Borrego said. &ldquo;... Right now we have to sustain it and keep our foot on the gas.&rdquo;
Said Bridges: &ldquo;As long as we keep playing like this I think we&rsquo;re going to be good in the standings.&rdquo;
The Hornets are playing unselfish basketball, averaging 34 assists during their win streak.
&ldquo;We all are good 1-on-1 players and it is tough sometimes to get to the second side" of the court, Bridges said. &ldquo;But everybody is buying into the offense.&rdquo;
The Mavericks (43-28) beat Houston, Boston and Brooklyn to open the five-game trip, but lost at Philadelphia and Charlotte on consecutive nights to fall 1 1/2 games behind the fourth-place Utah Jazz in the West.
Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said his team&rsquo;s play on defense over the last two games needs to improve.
&ldquo;Sometimes when you rely on scoring when things are good there can be some slippage on the defensive end,&rdquo; Kidd said. &ldquo;We are trending down and we have to pay attention to that and get back to playing the way that we have in the past.&rdquo;
The Hornets came out of the gates hot, bolting to a 19-4 lead after making their first seven shots from the field, including five 3s. The Mavericks looked slow closing out on shots as Charlotte made eight 3s in the first quarter.
Dallas showed signs of life by battling back to take the lead late in the second quarter, but the Hornets closed the first half on an 11-0 run to take a 61-52 edge at the break.
Charlotte pulled away in the third quarter despite 21 points from Doncic, and extended the lead to 32 in the fourth quarter. Charlotte was 15 of 22 from the field in the third quarter and outscored the Mavericks 41-28 as Bridges and Washington combined for 23 points.
WORKING ON THE ZONE
Nobody plays more zone than the Hornets, and that was on full display against the Mavericks.
Kidd said that he expects more teams to play zone against them in the playoffs, so Saturday night's game was a good learning experience for his team.
&ldquo;Teams are trying to take the ball out of Luka's hands, so other guys are going to have to make plays and step up and make shots," Kidd said. "So this is a great dress rehearsal for them.&rdquo;
TIP INS
Mavericks: Spencer Dinwiddie (injury recovery, right knee), Tim Hardaway Jr. (left foot surgery) and Theo Pinson (right fifth finger fracture) all sat out. ... Davis Bertans fouled out early in the fourth quarter with two points. ... With the Mavs trailing by 31 in the fourth quarter, Dallas fans in the crowd began chanting &ldquo;We want Boban&rdquo; Marjanovic. He did not play.
Hornets: Gordon Hayward missed his 16th straight game with a sprained left ankle.
UP NEXT
Mavericks: Host Minnesota on Monday night.
Hornets: Host New Orleans on Monday night.
&nbsp;

Miles Bridges scored 23 points, P.J. Washington had 21 and the Charlotte Hornets routed the Dallas Mavericks 129-108.

Hornets rout road-weary Mavs 129-108 for 4th straight win

Every day, BasketballNews.com gives you NBA betting analysis before tip-off. Make sure you subscribe to our daily podcast &ldquo;Nothing But Bets&rdquo; on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/nothing-but-bets/id1589799249" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Apple Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/6zNxt0NQXPmKuryAdz89m0?si=1038d121100444fd" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Spotify</a> or wherever you listen to podcasts. This season, &ldquo;Nothing But Bets&rdquo; is up thousands of dollars on PrizePicks.
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Without further ado, let&rsquo;s go ahead and dive into the best NBA plays for Saturday&rsquo;s slate.
Charlotte Hornets (-4) vs. San Antonio Spurs
This is going to be such a fun battle to watch on Saturday night when LaMelo Ball and Dejounte Murray square off 1-on-1. Expect both to go off, which will be key for their player props on the board. In what should be a very fast-paced, high-scoring matchup, we lean in the direction of Charlotte here. Not only will Ball be scoring, but his playmaking ability will loom large in setting up athletic wings like Miles Bridges and Kelly Oubre Jr. on a consistent basis. Hammer the Hornets as one of our best bets of the day.
Pick: Hornets -4
PrizePicks Power Play: Dejounte Murray over 22.5 points, LaMelo Ball over 19.5 points, Miles Bridges over 19.5 points, Jakob Poeltl over 10.5 rebounds
Miami Heat (-5) vs. Philadelphia 76ers
James Harden is sitting this game out for Philadelphia, which is a big bummer for those looking forward to a potential Eastern Conference Finals matchup a few months from now. With no Harden, the pressure ramps up on Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey to maintain their excellent levels of play. We&rsquo;re betting on Embiid and Maxey to deliver, which keeps this game much closer than expected. Even without Harden, Philadelphia will make a statement tonight. Lock in the Sixers, as they continue to prove why they should be the favorites to make the NBA Finals.
Pick: 76ers +5
PrizePicks Power Play: Joel Embiid over 29.5 points, Bam Adebayo over 18.5 points, Gabe Vincent over 10.5 points, Tyrese Maxey over 4.5 assists
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Golden State Warriors (-6)
Both of these teams are in real slumps right now, but the Lakers have sunk to levels we haven&rsquo;t seen in ages. Nothing is working right now for Los Angeles, which is not a good recipe when going up against Stephen Curry&rsquo;s Warriors. Curry and LeBron James will put on a show, but which star will have his complementary pieces step up along the way? We&rsquo;re wagering on the favorite in Golden State, who has proven it can get out of its own way a lot easier than the Lakers. Confidently hammer the Warriors to cover the 6-point spread.
Pick: Warriors -6
PrizePicks Power Play: LeBron James over 29.5 points, Stephen Curry over 24.5 points, Russell Westbrook over 16.5 points, Klay Thompson over 2.5 threes
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Who are the best bets for tonight's NBA games? Which players should you target in daily fantasy? We've got you covered!

Best Bets: BasketballNews' picks and fantasy advice for 3/5/22

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Pascal Siakam had 24 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists, and the Toronto Raptors defeated the Charlotte Hornets 116-101 on Monday night for their sixth straight win.
Gary Trent Jr. scored 24 points, and Fred VanVleet and OG Anunoby each had 20 points for the Raptors, who began a stretch of eight of nine games on the road with a convincing win. Scottie Barnes added 15 points as the Raptors' starters accounted for all but 13 points.
Miles Bridges scored 25 points to lead the Hornets, who lost their fifth consecutive game. Charlotte struggled through another poor offensive performance, shooting 41.1% from the field and 22.5% from 3-point range. 
LaMelo Ball, who was named as an All-Star game replacement a few hours before the game, finished with 15 points and nine assists for the Hornets.
Siakam, the NBA's Eastern Conference Player of the Week, set the tone in the first half, shooting 6 of 9 from the floor for 14 points with six rebounds and five assists as the Raptors opened a 23-point lead.
Charlotte cut the lead to three in the third quarter after getting a big boost from Terry Rozier and P.J. Washington, but appeared to run out of gas. Rozier finished with 20 points.
The Raptors put the game away with two minutes left behind a breakaway dunk by Anunoby.
The struggling Hornets, who were without Cody Martin and James Bouknight due to injuries, lost Gordon Hayward for the game after he sprained his left ankle in the first quarter. Hayward had struggled since missed six games while in COVID-19 protocols, making just 3 of 23 shots from the field. But, coach James Borrego was counting on him to help a young team break out of a slump.
Charlotte struggled with the Raptors' length, turning the ball over nine times in the first half, leading to 14 Toronto points.
Toronto entered the game averaging 118 points during their five-game winning streak, and didn’t miss a beat against the Hornets. It marked the 10th straight game the Raptors have scored at least 100 points.
TIP-INS
Raptors: Shot 42.9% (15 of 35) from 3-point range. ... Made just 19 of 29 free throws.
Hornets: Outscored the Raptors 58-48 in the paint. ... Kelly Oubre was 0 for 8 from long distance, but had 17 points. ... Fell to 0-3 on their four-game homestand.
UP NEXT
Raptors: At Oklahoma City on Wednesday night.
Hornets: Host Bulls on Wednesday night.
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Pascal Siakam led the Toronto Raptors to a 6th straight win with a win over the Charlotte Hornets Monday night.

Siakam, Raptors beat Hornets 116-101 for 6th straight win

Adversity is about to hit the young, surging Charlotte Hornets at an inopportune time. Now, the question is how will the Hornets&rsquo; locker room hold on throughout this potentially tumultuous period?
Losers of four straight games for the first time since the beginning of November, Charlotte has fallen from the No. 6 seed down to No. 9, squarely within the Play-In shuffle. The Eastern Conference is stacked to the gills this season, and any false steps down the standings could be costly later on.
Charlotte&rsquo;s schedule sets up for a prove-it type of period heading into the All-Star break: Toronto Raptors, Chicago Bulls, at Detroit Pistons, Memphis Grizzlies, at Minnesota Timberwolves, Miami Heat. Five of those six teams are slotted in the playoffs right now, so Charlotte needs to put the pieces back together to prevent further slippage.
On Saturday, an interesting situation occurred on the Hornets&rsquo; bench during a blowout loss at home against the Heat. Head coach James Borrego appeared to have said something to rookie shooting guard James Bouknight that he took offense to, standing up and getting in his face. LaMelo Ball quickly helped break up the conflict on the bench, but Bouknight walked back to the locker room with a Hornets assistant coach. Bouknight&rsquo;s only minutes during this game were fewer than a 60-second span, which is just so head-scratching.
The No. 11 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, Bouknight has been a forgotten about prospect within the strong rookie class producing on the court this season. Only appearing in 25 games and averaging 10 minutes, Bouknight has been on the outside looking in with Borrego&rsquo;s rotation. It seems like this has festered and finally boiled over this past weekend for a frustrated lottery pick not being utilized.
&ldquo;Obviously we were all a little frustrated, all of us,&rdquo; Borrego said about what happened with Bouknight. &ldquo;In the third quarter, early fourth and it got a little emotional there. Beyond that I&rsquo;ll leave it there.&rdquo;
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Dunno what was said but here&rsquo;s video of the incident between James Bouknight and Hornets HC James Borrego. <a href="https://t.co/QiECLLLjPq">https://t.co/QiECLLLjPq</a> <a href="https://t.co/uyGiYz2JK9">pic.twitter.com/uyGiYz2JK9</a>
&mdash; Doug Branson (@DougBransonLOH) <a href="https://twitter.com/DougBransonLOH/status/1490145313100910592?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 6, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Meanwhile, Bouknight was not made available to the media postgame. Unfortunately, we weren&rsquo;t able to hear Bouknight&rsquo;s side of the story, but we soon should, and it&rsquo;s fair to read between the lines here on why exactly it occurred.
&ldquo;As I&rsquo;ve said before he&rsquo;s in a tough spot,&rdquo; Borrego said. &ldquo;He obviously wants to play. I get that. I understand that. Look, he&rsquo;s a kid that we believe in, we trust in and we are going to find more minutes for him, more time. So I won&rsquo;t get into the specifics. Just two competitors trying to help this team.&rdquo;
Bouknight&rsquo;s raw numbers on the stat sheet paint a completely different picture than what actually happens when logging real minutes. The former UConn Husky is averaging 4.8 points in 10.0 minutes per game. However, in the five contests Bouknight has logged over 20 minutes, the splits are very promising: 15.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, 59.3% True Shooting percentage.
Charlotte couldn&rsquo;t pass up on the talent of Bouknight when he slipped to No. 11 overall. There was smoke pre-draft that Bouknight could have been drafted within the first five selections thanks to his NBA-ready scoring package and explosiveness.
<a href="http://BasketballNews.com">BasketballNews.com</a>'s Senior NBA Draft Analyst Matt Babcock mentioned how Bouknight had real promising offensive potential upon entering the Association:
&ldquo;An explosive vertical athlete, crafty finisher around the rim, and assertive scorer. James Bouknight is capable of filling up a box score with points in the blink of an eye. Although he needs to improve as an outside shooter, he has the potential to become a primary offensive option in the NBA and should have a solid career.&rdquo;
On the Hornets&rsquo; roster, there are plenty of guards who need to be fed shots. Ball is an obvious one with his all-around brilliance and being their true foundational building block. Terry Rozier recently signed a long-term extension, and he&rsquo;s someone known as a bucket-getter. Kelly Oubre Jr. is the exact same way, someone who is a rhythm scorer capable of chucking at will.
Cody Martin has been a surprise for the Hornets this season within their guard/wing rotation as well, shooting over 40% from three-point range while providing two-way versatility. The one player who could be questionable with more playing time over Bouknight is longtime veteran point guard Ish Smith, who has appeared in 10 more games than the rookie shooting guard.
As you can see, the Hornets have a real glutenous amount of high-usage scorers who are ahead of Bouknight, and he should soon fill into that same role as well.
This is another intriguing factor as to why the Hornets are going to be a team to closely monitor heading into Thursday&rsquo;s NBA trade deadline. If the Hornets make a win-now move for a center &mdash; someone like Myles Turner would take this team to another level &mdash; potentially multiple players in front of Bouknight could be shipped out.
For example, a hypothetical deal revolving around =Turner to Charlotte for Oubre, P.J. Washington and a future first-round draft pick could have some legs behind it. Oubre&rsquo;s departure would be a plus for Bouknight, who would see a bump in his potential to play real minutes when it matters for the Hornets.
For the time being, Bouknight&rsquo;s frustrations seem very much warranted. When Bouknight receives minutes, he produces well more often than not for an inexperienced rookie. Bouknight is not afraid to shoot, which is what makes him so enticing long-term alongside Ball in Charlotte&rsquo;s backcourt.
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James Bouknight has become a forgotten rookie in this loaded class, and his frustrations in Charlotte are boiling over.

The curious, frustrating case of James Bouknight's lack of minutes

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; The Cleveland Cavaliers nearly lost a game because of a 3-pointer that never went through the hoop &mdash; and officials said never should have counted.
Kevin Love made two free throws with 1.2 seconds left and finished with 25 points as the Cavaliers escaped with a 102-101 win over Charlotte Hornets on Friday night following a wild fourth quarter.
Jarrett Allen had a career-high 29 points and 22 rebounds one day after being snubbed for the All-Star game, and Love scored 22 of his points in the second half as the Cavaliers overcame a bizarre technical foul on bench player Ed Davis for interference. The technical resulted in Hornets guard Terry Rozier being awarded a 3-pointer that he never actually made &mdash; and officials later said never should not have counted.
Rozier finished with 24 points and Kelly Oubre Jr, added 21 for Hornets, who overcame a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter, only to lose their third straight game.
Things got strange when Davis, who was on the Cavaliers&rsquo; bench in his warmups and never played a minute, was whistled for interference when he swatted at Rozier&rsquo;s arm from the sideline with 4:44 left in the game. Davis, and others, thought the play had ended and whistles had blown after Dean Wade stepped out of bounds.
But officials got together and awarded Rozier three points and charged Davis with a technical foul. Rozier made the free throw, completing a four-point swing for Charlotte and cutting Cleveland's lead to six.
Crew chief Brian Forte said via a pool report after the game that officials made a mistake, and Rozier's shot should not have counted.
&ldquo;It was miscommunication amongst the crew about the sequence of the play,&rdquo; Forte said. &ldquo;Upon review after the game, the out of bounds was called prior to the start of the field goal attempt and the shot should not have counted.&rdquo;
Love agreed.
&ldquo;We thought the whistle was blown and (the officials) were tapping their head because they thought Dean Wade had stepped out of bounds,&rdquo; Love said. &ldquo;That's when E.D. stuck his hand in there.&rdquo;
The Hornets capitalized on the momentum and took a 101-98 lead when P.J. Washington hit back-to-back 3-pointers and Oubre added a corner 3 with 47 seconds left.
Allen cut the lead to one before Rozier missed a 3-pointer, setting up a frantic and controversial final few seconds.
Cleveland's Brandon Goodwin missed a short jumper with 2.1 seconds left, but Love grabbed the offensive rebound and appeared to miss the follow-up. But officials reviewed the play and called Rozier for a foul.
Love converted the tying and the go-ahead free throws as the home crowd roared its disapproval.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s Kevin Love. There was no doubt in our mind that when he was going to the free-throw line, he was going to make them both," Cavaliers coach B.J. Bickerstaff said. "There&rsquo;s no situation that he hasn&rsquo;t seen. There&rsquo;s no pressure-filled moment that he hasn&rsquo;t been in.&rdquo;
The Hornets tried an inbound alley-oop with 1.2 seconds left, but Gordon Hayward's lob to Miles Bridges hit the front of the rim and bounced away.
&ldquo;Our guys kept battling and gave ourselves a chance to win the game,&rdquo; Hornets coach James Borrego said. "We kept battling. A lot of emotions out there in a tight game and I thought our guys battled until the last whistle there.
SUPPORT FOR ALLEN
Love said he was &ldquo;gutted&rdquo; when he learned Allen did not make the All-Star team despite averaging 16.7 points and 10.7 rebounds coming into the game.
&ldquo;That is a guy I want to compete with every single night,&rdquo; Love said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s an All-Star. There is no doubt in my mind.&rdquo;
There is still a chance Allen could make the team due to an injury to Kevin Durant.
&ldquo;At first, I was disappointed, but then you have to look at the league and see that is a well-oiled machine that keeps going," Allen said. "So, do I sulk that I didn&rsquo;t make the game or do I keep working harder and playing my kind of basketball?&rdquo;
BIG SECOND HALF
Love had only three points at halftime before going on a tear. He made 6 of 12 shots from the field after the break, including 5 of 9 from beyond the arc.
&ldquo;At halftime J.B. got on me and said, &rsquo;Why do you keep pump-faking?' He said, &rsquo;no more pump-faking,'&rdquo; Love said. &ldquo;... JB wants me to shoot the ball &mdash; and shoot it with confidence.&rdquo;
TIP INS
Cavaliers: Made 14 of 40 3-pointers. ... All-Star Darius Garland missed his third straight game with lower back soreness. ... Lauri Markkanen missed his sixth game with a sprained ankle.
Hornets: Hayward returned to the starting lineup for the Hornets after missing the last six games in the league&rsquo;s health and safety protocols and struggled, finishing 3 of 13 from the field for seven points.
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UP NEXT
Cavaliers: Host Indiana Sunday night.
Hornets: Host Miami Saturday night.
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Kevin Love made two free throws with 1.2 seconds left and finished with 25 as Cleveland escaped with a 102-101 win over Charlotte.

Love hits late FTs, Cavs edge Hornets 102-101 in wild finish

BOSTON (AP) &mdash; Josh Richardson made six 3-pointers and scored 23 points, Jayson Tatum hit two key free throws and finished with 19 points and the Boston Celtics held off the Charlotte Hornets 113-107 on Wednesday night, overcoming a career-best 38 points by LaMelo Ball.
Marcus Smart scored 22 points and Jaylen Brown 15 as Boston won its third straight.
Terry Rozier scored 23 points, P.J. Washington 16, Kelly Oubre Jr. 15, and Mason Plumlee had 17 rebounds for the Hornets, who have lost four of six.
Boston shot 14 for 36 from 3-point range and Charlotte made 12 of 40 from long distance.
Rozier&rsquo;s 3-pointer from the top of the key tied it at 107 with 62 seconds left.
Tatum then hit two free throws and, after Robert Williams III blocked Washington&rsquo;s 3-point attempt, Smart hit two free throws with 15.6 seconds to play.
Boston had opened a 93-83 lead on Richardson&rsquo;s sixth 3-pointer of the game with just over 10 minutes left in the fourth.
But the Hornets made a late charge. Rozier&rsquo;s left-wing 3 sliced it to 103-98 with 2:56 to play. Ball was then fouled by Tatum, who was also whistled for a technical on the play.
Ball nailed all three from the line, giving him a career high, and cutting it to 103-101 with just over two minutes left.
The Celtics had scored 18 of the final 26 points of the third quarter, with Brown hitting a jumper from the foul line just before the buzzer to give Boston an 88-78 edge entering the fourth.
TIP-INS
Hornets: F Gordon Hayward cleared the NBA&rsquo;s health and safety protocols but didn&rsquo;t travel with the team. &hellip; In their last trip to Boston, Ball had a triple-double, grabbing a rebound to complete it with 0.2 left in a game during a 111-102 victory.
Celtics: Shot 53.7% in the first half (22 of 41) with Tatum, Smart and Richardson all shooting 50% or better. &hellip; Al Horford briefly went to the locker room midway into the second quarter.
&nbsp;
THAT WAS QUICK
Boston opened a 12-point lead early in the second quarter, but the Hornets wiped it out quickly with a 14-1 spurt in just 2&frac12; minutes.
UP NEXT
Hornets: Host the Cavaliers on Friday.
Celtics: At the Pistons on Friday.

Josh Richardson made six 3-pointers and Boston held off Charlotte 113-107, overcoming a career-best 38 points by LaMelo Ball.

Celtics beat Hornets, overcome Ball's career-best 38 points

Last week, we heard from The Athletic&rsquo;s Shams Charania about a new team who has entered the long drawn out Ben Simmons sweepstakes. The Charlotte Hornets have <a href="https://theathletic.com/3088096/2022/01/24/with-ben-simmons-james-harden-trade-a-hope-worth-waiting-for-sources-say-sixers-prefer-a-summer-deal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly made an inquiry about Simmons&rsquo; availability</a>. Charania relayed that Charlotte and the Philadelphia 76ers had yet to have serious conversations, but, the more you think about it, the fit between Simmons and the Hornets seems perfect on paper.
After a historically bad start to the season defensively, Charlotte has turned the corner as of late, showing real promise as a potential playoff threat. Since Christmas, the Hornets are 11-6 while also being No. 11 in Defensive Rating (109.0).
Checking in with a 28-23 record, Charlotte is the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference with 11 days to go before the trade deadline. Over the last five weeks, only the Miami Heat and 76ers have more wins than Charlotte in the East.
With a ready-made second-year pro in LaMelo Ball taking the leap to young stardom, the Hornets stand out as an underrated potential buyer. With the hardest part of the rebuilding process done with Ball as the centerpiece, how much faster could the Hornets' rise get if they decided to get aggressive?
If Charlotte feels it is ready to make a win-now splash and make a bigger push up the standings, Simmons is the stick of dynamite that would accomplish it.
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Could you imagine LaMelo Ball and Simmons&rsquo; playmaking wizardry sharing the court together, running pick-and-rolls and feasting in transition? It&rsquo;s a match made in heaven for a potential Simmons fit, and a team who seems one big move away from staking their claim in the East.
Simmons would be used to his highest capabilities in James Borrego's system as well. Not only would he still be used as a primary playmaker at times, but Simmons could be a souped-up small-ball mismatch weapon while in the frontcourt alongside Ball.
Sixers president Daryl Morey has let it be known for a while that he won&rsquo;t sell Simmons off for a price he feels is lower than what the former No. 1 overall pick could return for Philadelphia. However, with the way Joel Embiid has put the whole team on his back at a historically high usage rate, Morey and Co. need to realize the time is now to strike while the iron is hot. Embiid is the MVP frontrunner who could vault the Sixers to real title contention with a smart move and accentuate their 2022 window and beyond.
Charlotte has multiple pieces who could appeal to Philadelphia, especially from a short and long-term viewpoint. Would the Hornets be willing to swap out potential All-Star reserve Miles Bridges, who will be due a massive rookie-scale extension this offseason, for Simmons? The Hornets would also be able to provide ideal complementary pieces alongside Embiid in Gordon Hayward and/or Terry Rozier.
So, let&rsquo;s go ahead and cobble together a potential win-win scenario for both Philadelphia and Charlotte in a Simmons blockbuster.
Sixers receive: Gordon Hayward, Miles Bridges, draft compensation
Hornets receive: Ben Simmons
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This might be a tough pill for some Hornets fans to swallow, but it&rsquo;s hard to envision Simmons coming to Charlotte unless the franchise parted with the enticing upside of Bridges. Philadelphia wants a &ldquo;top-40&rdquo; player in return for Simmons, and Bridges is the best bet of checking that box on the Hornets&rsquo; roster.
The Sixers have also reportedly tried to throw Tobias Harris&rsquo; max contract in trade talks with Simmons. Charlotte has enough roster flexibility to absorb Harris if the team truly wanted to push the chips all-in for Simmons.
Sixers receive: Gordon Hayward, Terry Rozier, Kelly Oubre Jr., Mason Plumlee, draft compensation
Hornets receive: Ben Simmons, Tobias Harris
It would be a wholesale change on both sides with this potential return package, but again, the Hornets can financially appease the Sixers in whichever route they want to go.
From Charlotte&rsquo;s point of view, is Simmons the player to push the all-in button on? Absolutely. Not only would Simmons and Ball become a dynamic foundation to build a roster around, but there&rsquo;s still some flexibility to bring pieces around them. If the Hornets were to keep Bridges in this scenario, he would be an ideal player on the wing who could thrive alongside the Ball-Simmons duo. In a market like Charlotte, or any other one not on the limelight-tier level of New York and Los Angeles, the easiest way to bring aboard stars is internal player development and taking swings in the trade market.
Many believed the Simmons melodrama would come to an end before the regular season began. Now, there&rsquo;s dimmer possibilities for Simmons behind shipped out of Philadelphia as Morey remains dug in on his high asking price.
If there&rsquo;s any potential ending soon on the horizon to this ongoing situation, Charlotte stands out much more than the other potential teams to take a swing and make the Sixers also happy in the end.
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As the Ben Simmons saga remains ongoing, one team has popped up that actually makes a lot of sense to pursue him.

Why Ben Simmons makes sense as a possible Hornets trade target

When&nbsp;<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/kings-making-buddy-hield-richaun-holmes-harrison-barnes-available" target="_blank" rel="noopener">seeing the report late last week</a>&nbsp;of the Sacramento Kings making Richaun Holmes available for trade, there should&rsquo;ve been several NBA teams channeling a 1980 Muhammad Ali saying, &ldquo;I want Holmes! I want Holmes!&rdquo;&nbsp;
(Couldn&rsquo;t find the clip, but I remember watching it long ago.)
Of course, Ali was talking about former World Heavyweight Champion Larry Holmes, whom he lost to later that year &mdash; 42 years later, we&rsquo;re talking about an underrated Kings center, but the point stands. Nothing, not even 50-year-old <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFK9zh2yHO4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Johnny Knoxville being in this week&rsquo;s Royal Rumble</a>, is less surprising than the Kings looking to revamp their roster in some form. That basketball team in Sacramento rebuilds more often than Griselda releases music.&nbsp;
But, again,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.spotrac.com/nba/sacramento-kings/richaun-holmes-17865/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">less than five months after signing a four-year, $46 million extension</a>, including a $12.9 million player option for 2024-25, Holmes is possibly available. At just $10.3 million this season, he&rsquo;s very affordable by NBA standards. Having turned 28 years old in October and playing in year seven, he&rsquo;s in the prime of his career. Given where he currently is, he might indeed be better off elsewhere.&nbsp;
Holmes has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/kings/richaun-holmes-commits-goggles-recounts-scary-eye-injury" target="_blank" rel="noopener">battled an eye injury</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sacbee.com/sports/nba/sacramento-kings/article256988807.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">COVID</a> this season, but has been productive despite a drop in playing time, logging 25.8 minutes through his 32 games (all starts) compared to last year, where he was at 29.2 minutes. He&rsquo;s posting 12.3 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per game this season while shooting a career-best 70% from the floor. Per 36-minutes, he&rsquo;s at 17.1 points, 1.5 blocks and a career-best 11.3 boards. Holmes is a distant first in win shares per 48 minutes at .179 (second is .111). He&rsquo;s also second in team box plus-minus (1.3) behind Tyrese Haliburton&rsquo;s 2.5 and ahead of Harrison Barnes&rsquo; 0.5; everyone else is in the negative. (Yes, that means De&rsquo;Aaron Fox, for whatever that&rsquo;s worth.)&nbsp;
Ideally, if you&rsquo;re the team making this move, you&rsquo;d look to solidify your center position while prepping for your playoff push. The good news is that all of the following teams are in the playoff hunt &mdash; so don't worry, my fellow rec spec-wearing friend, let's get you outta there.&nbsp;
Charlotte Hornets
The Hornets are (quietly?) 27-22 as of this writing, and are seventh in the Eastern Conference. At least they're quiet for a team run by a rising star in LaMelo Ball, his underappreciated backcourt mate Terry Rozier, Most Improved Player candidate Miles Bridges and steady swingman Gordon Hayward&nbsp; That&rsquo;s four-fifths of their starting five, with the center spot being occupied by Mason Plumlee. Kelly Oubre Jr. and PJ Washington play significant minutes off the bench, meaning the Hornets &mdash; who are 21st in rebounding and allow the third-most rebounds per game &mdash; are often playing small.&nbsp;
PJ Washington, in particular, is a&nbsp;<a href="https://hoopshype.com/storyline/pj-washington-trade/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">trade piece that&rsquo;s been rumored to be available</a> and likely has to be included in the deal, since his minutes and production have declined since last season, where he was an everyday starter. It should be added that, entering the last of his rookie-scale contract next season, it&rsquo;s likely the Hornets won&rsquo;t extend him by 2023.&nbsp;
The trade logistically couldn&rsquo;t be PJ for Holmes straight up since Washington only makes $4.2 million this season. The Kings also are rumored to be shopping others on their team, so there&rsquo;s a potential for this to extend beyond Holmes arriving from Sacramento by himself in this hypothetical &mdash; your simplest route is to pair Washington with Plumlee&rsquo;s $8.1 million, which mathematically makes this work straight up. Plumlee has a partially guaranteed $8.5 million coming to him next season, and the Kings should also receive a couple of second-rounders or a first coming back to them, both of which the Hornets <a href="https://www.prosportstransactions.com/basketball/DraftTrades/Future/Hornets.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">have enough to entice with</a>.&nbsp;
A Ball-Rozier-Hayward-Bridges-Holmes lineup sounds fun as hell.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Richaun Holmes is dunking all over the Lakers 😤 <a href="https://t.co/y9fO2OprSI">pic.twitter.com/y9fO2OprSI</a>
&mdash; NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNNBA/status/1465891771489996805?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 1, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Dallas Mavericks
Between Dwight Powell, Moses Brown, Maxi Kleber, Willie Cauley-Stein, Marquese Chriss and Boban Marjanović, the Dallas Mavericks have had what&rsquo;s felt like a 💩 ton of bigs this season. Even so, as our Nekias Duncan wrote last week, without a true anchor, the Mavs have recently <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/how-do-the-mavericks-have-an-elite-defense" target="_blank" rel="noopener">become one of the league&rsquo;s best defenses</a>.&nbsp;
Still, on the roster, there isn&rsquo;t a clear long-term answer there as you continue to build this around the already extended Luka Dončić and, for now, the seemingly bought-in Kristaps Porziņģis. Enter Holmes, who is signed through at least the 2023-24 season. Powell and Kleber, who generally eat the lion&rsquo;s share of minutes next to KP, are both signed through 2022-23 before they&rsquo;d each become unrestricted free agents. Though Kleber makes $8.9 million this season and Powell is at $11 million, both work for Holmes mathematically straight up. Obviously, Dallas would attach at least one or two second-round draft picks, if not a protected first, to either guy (Powell more likely) and make it nearly a straight-up trade.&nbsp;
There&rsquo;s room to open this up further. Buddy Hield makes $22.5 million this season, and his contract descends to $20 and $18 million until it expires in the summer of 2024. Tim Hardaway Jr., who Dallas extended this past summer and <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/33148625/dallas-mavericks-tim-hardaway-jr-ruled-game-left-foot-injury" target="_blank" rel="noopener">is now out with a fractured left foot</a>, makes $21 million this year but is also on a descending deal that drops to $19.6, $17.9, and $16.1 million through the 2024-25 season. Both struggling shooting guards probably aren&rsquo;t long for their organizations, even as they were both recently extended. Hardaway Jr. was also moved to the bench for Jalen Brunson, who&rsquo;s facing a contract situation of his own given his pending free agency (keep him, Dallas).&nbsp;
So there&rsquo;s a path to this becoming a Powell and Hardaway plus draft picks for Holmes and Hield exchange. Holmes is the type of hustling, dirty-work, efficient and quality center that the Mavericks could use. Unlike in 2K, you can trade injured players in real life &mdash; sorry Tim. Just imagine the push shots off Luka feeds.&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
death, taxes, and richaun holmes hitting 62.5% of his push shots (20-of-32) <a href="https://t.co/iGH0xuA7Gn">pic.twitter.com/iGH0xuA7Gn</a>
&mdash; Dan Favale (@danfavale) <a href="https://twitter.com/danfavale/status/1465715242952900614?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 30, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Toronto Raptors
I mean, could you think of a more Raptor-ass center than Holmes? Who better be run with Fred VanVleet, Scottie Barnes, OG Anunoby, Pascal Siakam and Gary Trent Jr.?&nbsp;
Now, how do you make this happen? First, with that being the Raptors&rsquo; starting five, where does Holmes fit? Well, it&rsquo;s really their starting five out of necessity because Precious Achiuwa hasn&rsquo;t had the second NBA season they&rsquo;d been hoping for. Ideally, you&rsquo;d still want an actual center in that mix as one of your top six minutes getters so that you have a bit more reliable size. The Raptors don&rsquo;t currently have a true center you could trust for extended periods, and Holmes fills that void.&nbsp;
Now, regarding trade pieces, Chris Boucher is on a $7 million expiring contract, and Khem Birch is on the first of a three-year, $19 million contract, which lands him at $6.3 million this season. Combining those two does work, and it would obviously have to come with considerable draft capital, but even the Kings would probably ask wtf are they going to do with that and have a point.&nbsp;
Remove Birch and insert Achiuwa? That works &ndash; would the Raptors already want to move off the centerpiece of their Kyle Lowry trade, who is just due $2.8 million next year with a $4.3 million team option the season after? I mean, maybe? It would certainly help preserve some draft capital in a hypothetical Holmes trade and, you figure, if you&rsquo;re acquiring a center Achiuwa would have a tougher time seeing minutes anyway. But that&rsquo;s generally what you&rsquo;d be looking at moving if you&rsquo;re Toronto: Boucher and Birch, Boucher and Achuiwa; Boucher, Achiuwa and Malachi Flynn, along with some combination of picks or a first-rounder, for Holmes.&nbsp;
And if I&rsquo;m Holmes, I&rsquo;m down for whatever, as long as I could leave Sacramento.&nbsp;
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Bonus: Golden State Warriors
Okay &hellip; here we go.
There&rsquo;s really only one way to do this, and it&rsquo;s using James Wiseman&rsquo;s $9.1 million salary this season straight up. Y&rsquo;all could determine what picks may or may not go where, but these are the two names because the Golden State Warriors don&rsquo;t have much middle-class salary to use, nor do they probably want to shake up their roster a ton, including even this. But if they determine that Wiseman, who hasn&rsquo;t played since Apr. 10 of last year due to a torn meniscus that <a href="https://theathletic.com/news/warriors-james-wiseman-needed-additional-knee-surgery-in-december-sources/DyEHJgzTblrO/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">required additional arthroscopic surgery in December</a>, isn&rsquo;t worth waiting for, then there you have it.&nbsp;
Wiseman showed flashes, but struggled defensively as a rookie while only logging 39 games (though he posted 11.5 points and 5.8 rebounds on 52% percent shooting in 21.4 minutes per contest). He&rsquo;ll turn 21 in March, and because of NCAA nonsense, we were only able to see him three times in college. Wiseman&rsquo;s due $9.6 million next year and will likely bank another $12.1 million, assuming his option gets accepted.
I&rsquo;m still a Wiseman stockholder, but I&rsquo;m also pro going for a championship now in this seemingly wide-open NBA season &mdash; an immediate upgrade at center might be what Golden State sees as a necessary step. It makes something like a possible Holmes deal reasonable to think twice about. Just sayin&rsquo;.
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Bryan Fonseca ponders a handful of teams who could be a good fit for Kings big man Richaun Holmes.

Examining potential trade destinations for Richaun Holmes

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) &mdash; Charlotte coach James Borrego gave his players a simple instruction Wednesday night.
Let it fly.
The Hornets didn&rsquo;t disappoint. They made 24 3-pointers, broke the franchise&rsquo;s single-game scoring record and produced the highest point total in the NBA this season with a 158-126 win over the Indiana Pacers.
&ldquo;Tonight we we kind of got in that zone in the third quarter and we didn&rsquo;t look back,&rdquo; said Kelly Oubre Jr., who scored a career-high 39 points and made a career-best 10 3-pointers. &ldquo;None of us were going for numbers today. We just wanted to play hard.&rdquo;
The numbers, though, were incredible. Oubre was 12 of 18 from the field and only missed five 3s. LaMelo Ball had his fourth triple double of the season with 29 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds. In all, four Hornets players topped the 20-point mark as they tied a season-best from beyond the arc.
Charlotte also snapped a two-game losing streak and pulled off a four-game sweep of the injury-depleted Pacers, who eliminated the Hornets in the play-in round last season.
It was no surprise to Borrego.
&ldquo;We were due for one of these games,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We just got rolling, one guy after another and just a great game offensively tonight and a great third quarter defensively. That&rsquo;s what turned the game.&rdquo;
The Pacers, led by 17 points from both Goga Bitadze and rookie Isaiah Jackson, lost their third straight and seventh out of nine.
Playing without three starters, Indiana simply couldn&rsquo;t keep up, and it didn&rsquo;t much time to see what was coming.
Charlotte opened the game by scoring 12 of the first 15 points and led 71-70 at the half. The Hornets opened the third quarter with seven straight points and used a 13-2 spurt to take a 104-82 lead with 4:18 to go.
They broke the franchise mark, fittingly, on a 3 from Myles Bridges with 5:14 to go and coasted to the final buzzer.
&ldquo;It happens, you&rsquo;ve just got to keep going and playing tougher like we did on the West Coast,&rdquo; Bitadze said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s hard. It&rsquo;s not like you&rsquo;re going to forget about it. You&rsquo;ve got to use it as motivation.&rdquo;
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TIP-INS
Hornets: Charlotte also topped its previous record scoring total, set in a 146-143 overtime loss to Houston in November. Charlotte&rsquo;s 141-point game against the Los Angeles Lakers on Nov. 24, 1993, was the team&rsquo;s top scoring total in regulation. ... Bridges finished with 22 points and Terry Rozier had 20. ... Charlotte shot 58.1% from the field and 53.3% on 45 3-point attempts.
Pacers: Torrey Craig and Lance Stephenson each had 14 points and Stephenson had 10 assists. ... Bitadze had six rebounds. ... Chris Duarte scored 11 points while Justin Holiday and Caris LeVert each had 10. ... Two-time All-Star Domantas Sabonis (sprained left ankle), Myles Turner (left foot) and Malcolm Brogdon (sore right Achilles tendon) all sat out.
HAYWARD OUT
Hornets forward Gordon Hayward did not play Wednesday after the team announced he had entered the COVID-19 health and safety protocols. Borrego said it&rsquo;s unclear when the 2017 All-Star might return to action. Hawyard also has been dealing with a sore right foot.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s unfortunate, it&rsquo;s disruptive, but that&rsquo;s the nature of the sport and the game and life,&rdquo; Borrego said. &ldquo;So we&rsquo;ll move forward. Obviously, we&rsquo;ve had a hard time the last year and a half without him so it&rsquo;s time for someone on the bench to step up.&rdquo;
QUOTABLE
&ldquo;You never want to lose like that at home," Craig said. &ldquo;The only thing we can do now is learn from it. We've got to flush this one tonight and get ready for Oklahoma City."
UP NEXT
Hornets: Return home on Friday to face the Los Angeles Lakers.
Pacers: At Oklahoma City on Friday.

The Hornets made 24 threes and broke the franchise’s single-game scoring record with a 158-126 win over the Indiana Pacers.

Hornets break franchise record with 158-126 win over Pacers

With rumblings surrounding the availability of Atlanta Hawks big man John Collins, BasketballNews.com's Evan Sidery and Nekias Duncan teamed up to come up with possible destinations prior to the NBA's Feb. 10 trade deadline.
John Collins is growing increasingly frustrated with his role. Carrying his lowest usage rate since his rookie campaign in 2017-18, Collins feels <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/stats-notebook-has-john-collins-role-with-the-hawks-really-changed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">he's more than deserving of being a more featured piece within the Hawks&rsquo; offense</a>. Even with Collins still only holding a 19.9 USG%, he&rsquo;s averaging an impressive stat line of 17.0 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.1 blocks at an above-average efficiency clip.
Collins is excellent at what he does for Atlanta, but would he look like in a different role elsewhere away from Trae Young?
He is only on the first year of his new deal, which drew lines in the sand during a tough restricted free agency period last offseason.
With extremely high expectations in Atlanta following its Eastern Conference Finals surprise, the team has been unable to clear the first bars. The Hawks already dealt promising young wing Cam Reddish to the New York Knicks in order to avoid paying him a big-figure contract. Meanwhile, if Collins is indeed available to the highest bidder around the Association, Atlanta could receive an extremely high amount of resources.
Below, Nekias and I dove into the film room, as well as five destinations that make the most sense for Collins in a trade scenario.
WHAT COLLINS BRINGS
Collins has become one of the NBA's most versatile pick-and-roll partners. Because of his speed, soft hands and impressive vertical pop, Collins is able to sky for just about anything you throw his way after he rolls to the basket. And because of his improved shooting ability &mdash; he's converted north of 40% of his above-the-break threes in each of the past three seasons &mdash; you can't afford to completely sell out against rim attempts.
It's that combination of skills that makes him deadly. Pairing that with Young &mdash; a guy that can pull from 30, make every pass in the book, and #FloaterGang you to death &mdash; is patently unfair. It's unsurprising that trips featuring a Young-Collins ball screen has generated over 1.05 points per possessions over the last three seasons, per Second Spectrum.
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Collins' quick-leaping ability also makes him a menace on the offensive glass when he's allowed to hover around the paint. The gradual decline in offensive rebounding has more to do with his positioning within the offense than some lack of instinct or physicality.
LIMITATIONS&nbsp;
There are some questions defensively.
There are fewer questions to answer than in years past, to be fair. Collins' activity level and awareness have improved throughout his career. You could especially sense a shift from him during last year's playoffs, and that has seemingly carried over into this year.&nbsp;
Collins looks a little more comfortable on the perimeter, holding his own in switches and in the rare times the Hawks have asked him to trap this year. He has the feel needed to clean up messes as a weak-side helper, especially if he's allowed to roam against a non-shooter.
It's still largely unclear if Collins has made enough strides to serve as a primary rim-protector for extended periods of time. Among 75 frontcourt players that have defended at least 150 picks in drop coverage this season, Collins ranks in the bottom five in points allowed per Second Spectrum.
The added activity is nice, but he's still suffering from the too-little-too-much problem. Sometimes he's giving up too much of a gap, which allows the ball-handler or roll man (if he receives a pass early enough) to build momentum and launch into Collins' chest. Other times, he's playing the gap a little too high, which allows the big to get behind him for easy lobs.
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It's fair to question how much of that is Collins trying to figure things out, and how much of it is him not trusting the point-of-attack defenders he's had to play with over the past couple of seasons. Let's be kind and say Young and Lou Williams leave quite a bit to be desired.
The boring answer: Collins has clear strengths and weaknesses, and a stronger defensive infrastructure could bring the best out of him.
Sacramento Kings
Rumors <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/kings-making-buddy-hield-richaun-holmes-harrison-barnes-available" target="_blank" rel="noopener">continue to billow out of Sacramento</a> right now pointing towards a massive roster overhaul soon in store. Everyone on the Kings, except reportedly De&rsquo;Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton, is available in trade talks. It shows the urgency is rising in Sacramento, and someone like Collins could be the perfect remedy.
Kings receive: John Collins
Hawks receive: Harrison Barnes, Davion Mitchell
This feels like a very fair trade for both sides, especially if Collins malcontents his way out of Atlanta. Barnes would provide beautiful floor-spacing acumen for the Hawks&rsquo; guards, plus Mitchell would be a bulldog defender who'd had heavy spot minutes alongside Young.
For Sacramento, it&rsquo;s easy to sell yourself on the idea of switching things up and inserting a potential 20-and-10 machine in Collins. Haliburton would be spoon-feeding easy looks for Collins, plus Fox provides a steady scoring partner as well.
Resetting around a trio of Fox, Collins and Haliburton in Sacramento could actually be a fun scenario to watch unfold. And from Atlanta&rsquo;s standpoint, this feels like a win-win deal in the short and long-term.
Charlotte Hornets
An intra-division trade, huh? With the way the Hornets have played lately, showcasing a complete turnaround on the defensive end, could they be positioning themselves to make a big push at February&rsquo;s trade deadline. Don&rsquo;t rule it out, because Charlotte&rsquo;s upside is already massive with a young superstar like LaMelo Ball running the show offensively.
Nabbing Collins from Atlanta would cost significant assets, but the payoff could be absolutely massive. Could you imagine Collins and Miles Bridges catching lobs from Ball with reckless abandon?
Hornets receive: John Collins
Hawks receive: Kelly Oubre Jr., P.J. Washington, James Bouknight
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
For Atlanta, Oubre would fill a similar energizer role as Collins, but with much less consistency and pop. Oubre has flashed at times brilliance this season we saw from him during his years with the Phoenix Suns; could that jump be intensified playing with Young as his point guard?
Washington and Bouknight are two former lottery picks for the Hornets who simply haven&rsquo;t been able to carve out a consistent role. If Charlotte decides the time is now, relinquishing these two enticing prospects likely is the going rate to seriously upgrade. Bouknight would provide a promising young building block who could turn into a 20-plus point-per-game scorer. Washington has the makeup similar to Collins where he can feast around the rim and pick-and-pops in Atlanta&rsquo;s scheme.
I would grade this one as doubtful on the potential scale of realism, but the construct of this certainly makes plenty of sense on paper.
Minnesota Timberwolves
The Timberwolves are so much fun to watch when they&rsquo;re clicking on all cylinders. Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns have been the dynamite scoring duo Minnesota had hoped for. D&rsquo;Angelo Russell is also finding his footing with the Timberwolves, showcasing a strong ability to bounce-back and fit within what&rsquo;s required of him.
It&rsquo;s long been known the Timberwolves have really been one more piece away from taking another serious jump in the Western Conference hierarchy. That&rsquo;s why Ben Simmons has been floated around Minnesota for months now.
What about Collins landing in Minnesota to play alongside Towns, Edwards and Russell? It wouldn&rsquo;t provide the defensive security blanket Minnesota is in desperate need of, but he makes an already scary offense absolutely terrifying.
Timberwolves receive: John Collins
Hawks receive: Jarred Vanderbilt, Leandro Bolmaro, Malik Beasley, draft compensation
The Hawks check plenty of boxes in this scenario where they send Collins off to Minnesota, bringing back an immediate impact scorer in Beasley, a super versatile rebounder with flashes of elite defense in Vanderbilt; plus, they would get a potentially beautiful backcourt fit with Bolmaro as a jumbo-sized playmaker. Throwing in some picks to the equation makes this so enticing for Atlanta as well.
This would be one to watch out for as a real fit for Collins, if it reaches that point in Atlanta anytime soon.
Portland Trail Blazers
Portland is in an odd spot right now. Damian Lillard is out indefinitely due to an abdomen injury that has plagued him for a while. With the Trail Blazers far out of competing for a serious playoff push, especially with no Lillard, now is the perfect time to reset a little bit and try something different.
The pressure is on for the Blazers to find another competent scoring punch to keep Lillard happy in Oregon long-term. Could Collins be the answer here? It&rsquo;s a very intriguing fit for both player and team.
Hawks receive: Larry Nance Jr., Robert Covington, Nassir Little
Trail Blazers receive: John Collins
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I have to admit, Collins teaming up with Lillard would be so much fun for everyone to watch. Instantly, Collins would provide an inside scoring jolt that&rsquo;s been missing for the Blazers. Also, Collins would be feasting consistently playing off the gravity of Lillard and CJ McCollum.
For the Hawks, they would receive three pieces to insert into their frontcourt to replace Collins&rsquo; production. Nance would be a strong bounce-back candidate playing with Young as his point guard in Atlanta. Covington isn&rsquo;t who he used to be, but can still provide winning attributes on a hopeful contender. Little is the wildcard who provides real intrigue here. Beginning to flash more consistently this season, could Little&rsquo;s rise become a full-on ascension with the Hawks?
Another scenario where this feels like a win-win for both sides. Maybe Portland throws on some draft compensation to make the return more eye-opening for Atlanta.
San Antonio Spurs
The dots have already been connected around Collins to San Antonio. As Collins entered restricted free agency, the Spurs were the one team we continuously heard as a team who was seriously interested in pursuing him for a lucrative offer sheet.
San Antonio&rsquo;s core has been overachieving a little bit this season, thanks in large part to Dejounte Murray becoming a key building block. It&rsquo;s really almost a blank slate for the Spurs, so maybe Collins could be the piece to really augment another era of strong basketball in San Antonio?
Hawks receive: Derrick White, Lonnie Walker IV
Spurs receive: John Collins
White has been thrown around in trade rumors throughout his career, but his fit next to Young is nothing short of excellent. White&rsquo;s all-around ability would cover up a lot of holes and help strengthen Atlanta&rsquo;s backcourt depth. Walker is a home-run swing, but an athlete like that to catch lobs every game from Young could lead to some magic happening.
San Antonio has been floating around as a potential shocking buyer at the trade deadline, including its name being thrown into the Simmons sweepstakes. Collins would boost up a Spurs core in desperate need of another strong piece.
Collins would cause a feeding frenzy in the NBA, if the Hawks are indeed shopping him around to the highest bidder anywhere. The Hawks&rsquo; big man has displayed he&rsquo;s deserving of a bigger role. Whether it&rsquo;s in Atlanta or elsewhere, Collins would change the dynamics of a lot of organizations.
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John Collins is growing increasingly frustrated with his role in Atlanta. If the Hawks decide to move on, where could he end up?

Examining potential trade destinations for John Collins

The best defensive rating the NBA over the past two weeks belongs to the Charlotte Hornets.
... Excuse me?!
One month ago, our <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/hornets-embarrassing-defense-sinking-their-enticing-potential" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Evan Sidery wrote </a>about how the Hornets' defense was derailing one of the NBA's most exciting young teams. And he was right. But man, how things have changed.
Charlotte is a scorching 9-3 in the past month and has improved to 25-20 on the season, pushing itself almost out of the Play-In tier of the Eastern Conference playoff race. On primetime national television Wednesday night, the Hornets wadded up the Boston Celtics and their two wing stars in a sneaky-big 111-102 victory. Since Dec. 23, the Hornets are third in Cleaning the Glass' defensive rating metric, and as already mentioned, first in the past two weeks.
Is this sustainable, or a product of good fortune? The answers are complicated.
The Hornets have given up the most wide-open field goal attempts per game in the entire NBA since the stretch has begun. NBA Stats qualifies those as shots where a defender is no closer than 6 feet from the shooter. Charlotte's defense has allowed 24.2 of those attempts per game &mdash; but that's not the whole story.
Opponents have been hitting those shots at a 60.9% Effective Field Goal percentage, good for ninth-highest in the league. So this isn't a case of waiting for regression to the mean. Teams are making the Hornets pay, and yet, they're still putting together an elite defense.
It gets weirder. Transition plays are generally a red flag for defenses because they typically lead to easy shots with a ton of spacing before a defense can get set. Per Cleaning the Glass, Charlotte is allowing opponents to get out in transition on 16.8% of their possessions during the winning stretch &mdash; third-highest in the league. But they've also been the No. 1 transition defense in that time.
Over the entire season, the five-man lineup of LaMelo Ball, Kelly Oubre Jr., Gordon Hayward, Miles Bridges and Mason Plumlee has been the seventh-stingiest transition group among all NBA units with at least 100 possessions of court time. (I simply would not have expected that.)
The Hornets have used turnover generation as the bedrock of their lockdown effort. Per Cleaning the Glass, opponents have coughed up the ball on 16.5% of their possessions since Dec. 23, which is the second-highest rate among NBA defenses.
Charlotte ranks at the top in deflections per game (18.3) and in defensive loose balls recovered (3.8) during that same timeframe, according to NBA Stats. Five players are averaging at least 2.5 deflections: Oubre (3.3), Cody Martin (2.8), PJ Washington (2.6) and Plumlee (2.5). Oubre, Martin, Hayward, Ball and Terry Rozier are all swiping at least one steal per game.
This defense isn't all about swinging for steals. Per Cleaning the Glass (pun, ha), the Hornets are limiting opponents' offensive rebounds and free-throw opportunities at top-10 rates. But by the numbers, Charlotte has aimed to cause chaos and ignite its own fastbreak opportunities &mdash; at whatever the cost. And the squad is an elite offensive unit when it gets running.
Is the approach sustainable? To be honest... I'm doubtful. Teams are going to figure out how to beat the Hornets in transition, whether they're doing something schematically or are just on a roll with getting stops. Their reckless abandon often means easy chances for the other team, and they will continue to capitalize on wide-open looks.&nbsp;
For now, though, it's making one of basketball's most entertaining teams even more fun to watch.
THE OUTLIERS (a.k.a. other random interesting numbers I find in the void):
<ul>
<li>Sticking with Charlotte: Rozier has been one of the hottest shooters in basketball as of late. He's making pull-ups at a 60.3% eFG rate since Thanksgiving, which is second behind only Tyrese Haliburton (min. 75 attempts). Gordon Hayward (54.5%) ranks seventh.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Among all five-man lineups with at least 100 possessions of action this season, this odd Portland Trail Blazers unit has the best net rating, per CTG: Anfernee Simons, Ben McLemore, Nassir Little, Robert Covington and Jusuf Nurkic.&nbsp;</li>
<li>I highly recommend you go back and read <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/how-do-the-mavericks-have-an-elite-defense" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this breakdown from Nekias Duncan</a> on the Mavericks' defense, another group that was never supposed to be good, but has flipped that script.</li>
<li>More cool stats and graphics from Mark Cheung! If you're reading this, I'm a big fan:</li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://t.co/MZNrQj2Se7">pic.twitter.com/MZNrQj2Se7</a>
&mdash; Mark (@MarkC_NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkC_NBA/status/1483882912739041286?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 19, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Ethan Fuller investigates why the Hornets have been weirdly and wildly successful on defense.

Stats Notebook: Hornets buzzing behind a weirdly-successful defense

BOSTON (AP) — LaMelo Ball had a triple-double with 15 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists to lead the Charlotte Hornets to a 111-102 victory over the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night.
Terry Rozier led Charlotte with 28 points against his former team. Miles Bridges scored 22 and Kelly Oubre Jr. added 18 for the Hornets, who won for the ninth time in 12 games. 
“To come in here and get a win — we want to make a statement,” Rozier said. “We want to get to where they're at as an organization.”
Dennis Schröder paced Boston with 24 points. Jaylen Brown scored 21 and Al Horford had 13 points and 10 rebounds.
“I thought we had a lot of good looks and we moved the ball really well,” Brown said. “They made a lot of tough baskets. They came and outplayed us.”
Boston star Jayson Tatum was hampered by foul trouble and finished with just 12 points on 5-of-19 shooting in 35 minutes. The Celtics had won five of six.
“I thought part of the foul trouble affected him overall as well as some other guys,” Celtics coach Ime Udoka said. “That was my message to the team: Impact the game when the shot's not falling.”
The Celtics were just 14 of 46 on 3-point attempts.
Boston sliced a 12-point deficit to 88-84 early in the final quarter but Charlotte scored 10 of the next 14 points, pulling ahead 98-88 on Oubre’s 3-pointer from the left wing with 4:55 to play. Ball had nailed a 3 from the left corner two minutes earlier.
“The competitiveness and resiliency was there in the fourth quarter,” Hornets coach James Borrego said. 
The Celtics cut it to 102-96 on Horford’s 3 with 2:48 left, but Ball nailed a 3 from in front of Boston’s bench and Rozier followed with one on the Hornets’ next possession.
Boston trimmed the margin to six one more time, but Rozier nailed another 3 to seal it in the final minute. 
Ball grabbed a rebound with 0.2 seconds remaining to complete his triple-double. He said Bridges reminded him how close he was.
“He was like: ‘Box out and you'll get that last rebound,’'' Ball said, pointing to Bridges sitting next to him at the postgame news conference. ”I said, ‘Oh, you’re right!'''
Rozier hit three from beyond the arc in a 62-second span of the third quarter, pushing the Hornets’ lead to 75-61. They were up 86-74 entering the fourth.
“To be the best, you've got to beat the best,” Rozier said. “We just want to keep going. We're not satisfied. We've got to stay humble and keep on having fun and playing out there. That's the main thing.”
TIP-INS
Hornets: Oubre returned from COVID-19 protocol after missing four games and had 10 points by early in the second quarter. … Gordon Hayward took just one shot in the first half and finished with five points. 
Celtics: C Robert Williams missed the game due to the birth of his son, named Hendrix. … G Marcus Smart missed his fifth straight game. He was out of virus protocol but sidelined for conditioning. ... G Aaron Nesmith has a sprained right ankle and also was sidelined. … Tatum picked up his third foul early in the second quarter and stood on the court near Boston’s bench, so the Celtics got a delay-of-game warning. He was whistled for his fifth early in the final quarter.
OH, NO
Mason Plumlee shot a free throw that appeared to miss the rim short by a few feet, bringing a loud reaction from the crowd.
TAKE A SEAT
Ball fell backward into the front row of seats after taking a 3 early in the third quarter, spilling drinks on a pair of fans.
EASY TO SEE
Ball wore bright mismatched sneakers; the left was lime green and the other bright pink.
NEW FACES
The Celtics acquired a pair of injured players from the Denver Nuggets as part of a three-team deal that included San Antonio. Boston received 7-foot-2 center Bol Bol, who is expected to have foot surgery and be sidelined for 8 to 12 weeks, and guard P.J. Dozier, who is out indefinitely after tearing his ACL this season.
Boston sent forward Juancho Hernangomez to the Spurs in a trade that helps the Celtics get under the luxury tax. 
UP NEXT
Hornets: Host the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday. 
Celtics: Host the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday. 
___
More AP NBA coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

LaMelo Ball recorded a triple-double, and the Charlotte Hornets beat the Boston Celtics.

Ball's triple-double carries Hornets past Celtics, 111-102

NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; Miles Bridges made sure LaMelo Ball wasn&rsquo;t missed.
Bridges scored a career-high 38 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, leading the Charlotte Hornets to a 97-87 victory over the New York Knicks on Monday.
Terry Rozier added 22 points. He and Bridges combined to outscore the Knicks by themselves in the first half as Charlotte bounced back nicely from a loss to Orlando that ended its four-game winning streak.
Ball was ill but the Hornets didn&rsquo;t need their flashy point guard, with Bridges driving them to a strong start. He scored 28 points in the first half.
&ldquo;He was awesome tonight. High-level performance. His confidence, the spirit he played with, led us to this victory,&rdquo; Charlotte coach James Borrego said. &ldquo;I thought Terry controlled the game as well. Miles and Terry together controlled that game, but Miles was fantastic.&rdquo;
<div class="Component-dfp-0-2-142">&nbsp;</div>
Rozier had 17 in the first half, when Charlotte led 62-44.
Julius Randle and RJ Barrett each scored 18 points for the Knicks, who had their three-game winning streak snapped.
Ball was listed as questionable with an illness unrelated to COVID-19, but the Hornets said just before the start that he was available to play. Ball sat on the bench with his teammates to watch the impressive performances by Bridges and Rozier.
Bridges was 7 for 8 in the first quarter for 22 points. The Knicks barely outscored him, with Charlotte leading 34-23.
&ldquo;LaMelo, he usually brings that aggression for us and we go as he goes, so somebody had to pick up the slack,&rdquo; Bridges said. &ldquo;So I wanted to go out there and be aggressive from the jump and T-Ro started being aggressive and Gordon (Hayward), so it was like a domino effect.&rdquo;
Bridges started the second quarter on the bench and the Knicks immediately ran off seven straight points to get within four. The Hornets called time, put Bridges back in after barely a two-minute break, and quickly regained control.
Bridges had the last three baskets of an 8-0 run that extended the lead to 45-33, a lead that grew to 18 at halftime after Rozier made 3-pointers for their final two baskets.
&ldquo;I think if you look at, honestly, the rest of the game, especially in the second half, we played well,&rdquo; Barrett said, noting the Knicks held the Hornets to 35 points after halftime.
&ldquo;So it was really just that first half, especially that first quarter.&rdquo;
Bridges, who shot 14 for 20, made a 3-pointer late in the third that gave Charlotte its biggest lead at 86-63. He got the basket that tied his previous high of 35 in the fourth quarter with a spectacular baseline drive and reverse scoop that had teammates grinning.
TIP-INS
Hornets: Hayward scored 16 points. .... Bridges has seven 30-point games this season. He had three in his first three seasons. ... Kelly Oubre was out because of health and safety protocols.
Knicks: Point guard Kemba Walker missed his ninth straight game with a sore left knee. ... Coach Tom Thibodeau celebrated his 64th birthday. ... Mayor Eric Adams addressed the crowd on Martin Luther King Jr. Day before the game, saying that just as &ldquo;Dr. King wanted the ball in his hands&rdquo; during the civil rights movement, New Yorkers wanted it now to lead the recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. &ldquo;Let&rsquo;s win this for Team New York and Team America,&rdquo; Adams said.
HOT HALF
The Hornets said that Bridges was just the fourth Charlotte player in the last 25 years with at least 28 points in a first half, and two have come against the Knicks in the last two seasons.
Hayward also had 28 against New York in Charlotte on Jan. 11, 2021. Walker had 35 against Memphis on March 22, 2018, while Glen Rice had 28 against Phoenix on Feb. 19, 1997.
UP NEXT
Hornets: Visit Boston on Wednesday.
Knicks: Host Minnesota on Tuesday.
___
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Bridges and Terry Rozier combined to outscore the Knicks by themselves in the first half.

Miles Bridges scores 38, Hornets beat Knicks without LaMelo Ball

NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; Miles Bridges made sure LaMelo Ball wasn't missed.
Bridges scored a career-high 38 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, leading the Charlotte Hornets to a 97-87 victory over the New York Knicks on Monday.
Terry Rozier added 22 points. He and Bridges combined to outscore the Knicks by themselves in the first half as Charlotte bounced back nicely from a loss to Orlando that ended its four-game winning streak.
Ball was ill but the Hornets didn't need their flashy point guard, with Bridges driving them to a strong start. He scored 28 points in the first half.
&ldquo;He was awesome tonight. High-level performance. His confidence, the spirit he played with, led us to this victory,&rdquo; Charlotte coach James Borrego said. &ldquo;I thought Terry controlled the game as well. Miles and Terry together controlled that game, but Miles was fantastic.&rdquo;
Rozier had 17 in the first half, when Charlotte led 62-44.
Julius Randle and RJ Barrett each scored 18 points for the Knicks, who had their three-game winning streak snapped.
Ball was listed as questionable with an illness unrelated to COVID-19, but the Hornets said just before the start that he was available to play. Ball sat on the bench with his teammates to watch the impressive performances by Bridges and Rozier.
Bridges was 7 for 8 in the first quarter for 22 points. The Knicks barely outscored him, with Charlotte leading 34-23.
&ldquo;LaMelo, he usually brings that aggression for us and we go as he goes, so somebody had to pick up the slack,&rdquo; Bridges said. &ldquo;So I wanted to go out there and be aggressive from the jump and T-Ro started being aggressive and Gordon (Hayward), so it was like a domino effect.&rdquo;
Bridges started the second quarter on the bench and the Knicks immediately ran off seven straight points to get within four. The Hornets called time, put Bridges back in after barely a two-minute break, and quickly regained control.
Bridges had the last three baskets of an 8-0 run that extended the lead to 45-33, a lead that grew to 18 at halftime after Rozier made 3-pointers for their final two baskets.
&ldquo;I think if you look at, honestly, the rest of the game, especially in the second half, we played well,&rdquo; Barrett said, noting the Knicks held the Hornets to 35 points after halftime.
&ldquo;So it was really just that first half, especially that first quarter.&rdquo;
Bridges, who shot 14 for 20, made a 3-pointer late in the third that gave Charlotte its biggest lead at 86-63. He got the basket that tied his previous high of 35 in the fourth quarter with a spectacular baseline drive and reverse scoop that had teammates grinning.
TIP-INS
Hornets: Hayward scored 16 points. .... Bridges has seven 30-point games this season. He had three in his first three seasons. ... Kelly Oubre was out because of health and safety protocols.
Knicks: Point guard Kemba Walker missed his ninth straight game with a sore left knee. ... Coach Tom Thibodeau celebrated his 64th birthday. ... Mayor Eric Adams addressed the crowd on Martin Luther King Jr. Day before the game, saying that just as &ldquo;Dr. King wanted the ball in his hands" during the civil rights movement, New Yorkers wanted it now to lead the recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. &ldquo;Let&rsquo;s win this for Team New York and Team America,&rdquo; Adams said.
HOT HALF
The Hornets said that Bridges was just the fourth Charlotte player in the last 25 years with at least 28 points in a first half, and two have come against the Knicks in the last two seasons.
Hayward also had 28 against New York in Charlotte on Jan. 11, 2021. Walker had 35 against Memphis on March 22, 2018, while Glen Rice had 28 against Phoenix on Feb. 19, 1997.
UP NEXT
Hornets: Visit Boston on Wednesday.
Knicks: Host Minnesota on Tuesday.

Miles Bridges scored a career-high 38 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, leading the Hornets to a 97-87 victory over the Knicks.

Bridges scores 38, Hornets beat Knicks without Ball

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — LaMelo Ball hit the go-ahead basket with 15 seconds left, Terry Rozier scored 27 points and the Charlotte Hornets beat the NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks for the second time in three nights, 103-99 on Monday night. 
Ball scored 18 of his 23 points in the second half, and Miles Bridges added 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Hornets, who have won six of eight games and improved to 12-5 at home.
Khris Middleton had 27 points and 11 assists, and Giannis Antetokounmpo added 26 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists for the Bucks, who also lost 114-106 to the Hornets on Saturday night.
The Bucks battled back from the 15 down in the third quarter to tie it when Antetokounmpo scored on a drive through the lane with 38.8 seconds left and drew a foul. He missed the free throw, but Wesley Matthews got the tip-in to tie it.
Ball took control when he drove across the lane, sweeping the ball above his head before launching an off-balance 10-foot runner to give the Hornets (22-19) the lead.
The Bucks (26-17) turned the ball over the next possession. Antetokounmpo drove the lane and tried to dish to Pat Connaughton in the corner but instead threw the ball over his head and out of bounds with 3.3 seconds left.
Bridges then sank two free throws to seal Charlotte's win.
The Bucks led 48-47 at the break as the teams combined to shoot 38% from the floor in the first half.
The Hornets came out of the break hot, surging ahead by 15 behind Ball's 16 third-quarter points, including a 3 off the glass from the wing and a step-back 3 from the top of the key off a fast break.
Rozier was 4 of 11 from 3-point range, marking the seventh time in the last eight games he has made at least four 3s. He is shooting 47.6% (40 of 84) from long distance during that stretch.
TIP INS
Bucks: Connaughton returned for Milwaukee, but Grayson Allen and George Hill remained in the health and safety protocols. Connaughton struggled, missing all six shot attempts including five from long distance.
Hornets: Played without top reserve Kelly Oubre Jr., who entered the league's health and safety protocols on Monday. Oubre was averaging 25 points over his last two games. 
UP NEXT
Bucks: Host Golden State on Thursday night.
Hornets: At Philadelphia on Wednesday night.
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Terry Rozier and LaMelo Ball led the Charlotte Hornets to a win over the Milwaukee Bucks.

Rozier, Ball lead Hornets to back-to-back wins vs. Bucks

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Terry Rozier scored 28 points, Miles Bridges added 21 points and eight rebounds, and the Charlotte Hornets beat the Milwaukee Bucks 114-106 on Saturday night, handing the defending NBA champions their third loss in four games.
LaMelo Ball chipped in with 19 points, nine rebounds and eight assists for the Hornets, who held Milwaukee to 38.9% shooting on the Bucks' second road game in two nights.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 43 points and 12 rebounds, while Khris Middleton added 27 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists for Milwaukee, which won in Brooklyn on Friday but fell to 13-9 on the road. Antetokounmpo finished 18 of 20 from the free throw line.
&ldquo;That is a big win right there for us,&rdquo; said Hornets coach James Borrego.
Added Bridges: &ldquo;This gives us confidence. They are world champs for a reason.&rdquo;
The teams meet again Monday in Charlotte.
&ldquo;They play hard and they are scrappy,&rdquo; Antetokounmpo said. &ldquo;They defend man-to-man and then they'll go zone. ... We have to trust one another and just focus on ourselves.&rdquo;
Rozier continued his torrid pace from 3-point range by going 6 of 10, including a huge 3 with 34 seconds left to put the Hornets up by seven.
Rozier has made 36 3-pointers over the last eight games, while shooting 49.3% from beyond the arc.
&ldquo;Terry is a hired gun,&rdquo; Borrego said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s an elite catch-and-shoot guy.&rdquo;
Charlotte led 47-41 at halftime after holding Antetokounmpo to eight points and the Bucks to 30.6% shooting in the first half.
Milwaukee trailed by 14 with 4:50 left in the game, but Antetokounmpo and Middleton brought them back, cutting the lead to four with 47.5 seconds left with a series of big baskets. It included an offensive rebound from Antetokounmpo, whose inadvertent flying elbow left Mason Plumlee with a cut above his eye.
But Rozier buried a crucial 3-pointer from the left wing to push the lead back to seven and keep the Bucks at a safe distance and Bridges put the game away with a fast-break layup for a three-point play with 10.7 seconds left.
&ldquo;I just know that the whole gym was staring at 'Melo, so I just tried to create some confusion for the defense. I just slipped out and I was wide open,&rdquo; Rozier said of his 3-pointer.
Milwaukee's Bobby Portis said he's been watching the Hornets a lot this season and has been impressed, calling them a fun up-tempo team with some marquee players in Ball and Bridges.
He also knows the Bucks are getting everyone's best effort this season.
&ldquo;We won last year, so every game for us is going to be a big game,&rdquo; said Portis, who had 19 points and 13 rebounds. &ldquo;Every game, teams are coming for us. So we got to compete at a high level each and every game.&rdquo;
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MORE OFFENSE NEEDED
Antetokounmpo, Middleton and Portis combined for 89 points and shot 29 of 54 from the field. But that trio didn't get much help from the rest of the team.
The other eight Milwaukee players who played were a combined 6 of 36 from the field and accounted for just 17 points.
OUBRE FINDING WAYS
Kelly Oubre had 18 points for the Hornets following a game where he had 32 points on a career-high nine 3-pointers &mdash; including an NBA record-tying eight in the fourth quarter &mdash; in a blowout win over the Detroit Pistons. He was just 2 of 11 from beyond the arc against the Bucks, but found other ways to be effective by slashing to the rim, sliding behind defenders on back cuts and running the court to finish on fast breaks.
TIP-INS
Bucks: Jrue Holiday, Grayson Allen, Pat Connaughton and George Hill did not play due to health and safety protocols, while Brook Lopez remained out while recovering from back surgery. ... Middleton had six turnovers.
Hornets: Shot 16 of 48 from 3-point range after making a franchise-record 24 3s on 42 attempts against the Pistons.

Terry Rozier led the Hornets with 28 points, grabbing a win over the Bucks despite Giannis' 43 and 12 effort.

Rozier, Hornets hand Bucks 3rd loss in last 4 games, 114-106

It only takes one tweet to describe the inauspicious nature of where we are in the NBA to tip off the New Year.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Following last night&rsquo;s games, the total number of NBA games lost to injury or illness this season surpassed 3,000. It took 34 days to pass 1,000, 26 days for the second 1,000, and just 17 for the most recent 1,000.
&mdash; Jeff Stotts (@InStreetClothes) <a href="https://twitter.com/InStreetClothes/status/1478357378928193537?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 4, 2022</a></blockquote>

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This season is constantly defined by incongruity, as the past month-and-a-half has seen a consistent ramp-up of players entering health and safety protocols and missing extended time. While it's commonplace for depth players to see increased playing time due to injuries any given year, an outlier number of them have been presented with larger opportunities due to sheer necessity.&nbsp;
While it is a small silver lining in an overall negative situation, some have really popped in extra time with more consistent minutes. Not every burst carries the same weight, comes through in a similar way or creates the same overarching questions that arise when a rotation's homeostasis is recalibrated on the fly. Unexpected flourishes from the 10th or 11th man in a rotation? Sign me up!&nbsp;
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Who's popping, why are they popping and what does it mean moving forward? Let's find out.
Jalen McDaniels, Charlotte Hornets
The third-year forward's seen a bump in his rotational minutes with P.J. Washington missing time due to injury/health and safety protocols, and is responding with the highest efficiency output of his career. McDaniels is hitting 62.4% of his two-pointers (54.2% over his first two seasons) and 40.9% from three, albeit on modest volume.
His ability to drive and put the ball on the deck to make positive plays is the highlight of his offensive package. McDaniels' handle isn't flashy, but it's functional, especially for his size (6-foot-9), and he parlays his long-strided drives into quality, live-dribble passes that open up his teammates.
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Add in that McDaniels is converting 61.1% of his field goal attempts on drives since returning to the lineup on Dec. 15 (a figure in between Myles Turner and Jrue Holiday over that span), and another brush stroke is painted on an impressive season.
His defense is much like Charlotte as a whole &mdash; eventful and chaotic. He's better playing out on the perimeter, using his length and footspeed to bother ball-handlers and jut into passing lanes, but also has utility as a weak-side rim-protector at times. His timing isn't really there to be relied upon for primary rim-protection capabilities, and he can get caught ball-watching as well, but Charlotte has often employed him as a 5 due to Mason Plumlee and the aforementioned Washington missing time.
The framework is there for a really high quality defensive player if he can rein in some of his tendencies. A better structured defense with more defined rules and surrounding personnel could do wonders for his development on that end.
He also dazzles in transition, adding another wrinkle to his game. His flashes of contact-finishing and his ability to use his length to guide in touch shots are incredibly intriguing.
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McDaniels has flashed brightly for the Hornets routinely throughout his young career, but is cemented behind Washington, Miles Bridges, Gordon Hayward and Kelly Oubre Jr. in the wing room. While he certainly has a role with the Hornets moving forward, I'd be surprised if other organizations haven't taken notice of his extended play in a larger role.
While I don't think Charlotte should be willing to move on from McDaniels easily, the idea of him on a contender is tantalizing. Jerami Grant is considered the "Belle of the Ball" of the trade season, but Chicago, Utah and Miami should all be calling up Mitch Kupchak if they haven't been already. McDaniels seems primed for more.
Skylar Mays, Atlanta Hawks 
The Hawks were lauded for their depth prior to the season, housing talent across their roster. And yet, it just hasn't clicked like expected due to a myriad of reasons, injuries chief among them. With their wing rotation in shambles over the past month, sophomore Skylar Mays has gotten his foot in the door.
Mays is one of the best players on a two-way contract in recent memory, and I would've argued prior to the season that someone should have signed him to a guaranteed deal. His time in the rotation since December has reinforced that. A 10.2-point/3.3-rebound/2.0-assist split on 59.9% True Shooting isn't earth shattering by any means, but it's indicative of his steadiness as a productive player.
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Mays is a fantastic pick-and-roll operator, although oddly is much better as a scorer than a passer. He's not traditionally bursty or adept at creating space with speed, but is incredibly strong and manufactures angles with constant readjustments, spins and off-hand craft.
He's a capable shooter off-the-catch and as a relocator, but not much of a threat off-the-dribble from deep.&nbsp;
Defensively, Mays is a bit plodding and doesn't have great footspeed, so he can be limited at the point of attack. However, he's a very good communicator and active off-ball defender, using his length well to impact passing lanes. He often catches unsuspecting drivers off-guard at the nail, where he's prone to spear the ball loose with quick jabs; Mays is currently averaging 3.88 deflections per 75 possessions according to Basketball Index (94th percentile).
Nate McMillan has been beholden to Lou Williams for backup point guard minutes, one of my major gripes with Atlanta this season, and Delon Wright struggles to impact the offense without the ball in his hands running pick-and-rolls. Mays shouldn't technically be a backup point guard, as he's more of a combo or outright 2-guard, but it stands to reason that there are minutes that he could be soaking up without injury. Regardless of whether or not it happens in Atlanta, Mays has shown that he's ready for a consistent rotation spot.
Jalen Smith, Phoenix Suns 
Across the last five games, Jalen Smith has nearly eclipsed the amount of minutes he played all of his rookie season; 120 minutes and 30 seconds compared to 156 minutes total in 2020-21.
With both Deandre Ayton and JaVale McGee out for the Suns, Smith was injected to the rotation and eventually the starting lineup after mostly being out of the rotation this year. He's quickly made everyone take notice, as he's averaged 15.2 points &amp; 9.4 rebounds on 66.9% True Shooting since Dec. 27.
I have absolutely no idea what to make out of Smith's play. On one hand, some of the flashes have been so encouraging and exactly what I imagined for him coming out of Maryland. On the other hand, how on earth does this work in Phoenix, a team trying to return to the Finals, where consistency is a must?
The calculus is quirky!
What Smith has flashed and theoretically brings is a stretch option and versatile pick-and-pop option for Chris Paul and Devin Booker as a counter to what they run with Ayton. Their bench thrived last season early with Dario Saric operating as a hub on the perimeter as a popper, which opened the floor for a new style of play.
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Smith has shot 36.4% from deep in those five games, which is good, but he's only taking slightly over two per game and is a career 23.1% perimeter shooter. The idea of what he could be is clear, but without a sizable role, is that all that attainable right now? Even with a continued larger role, is he shooting more and still hitting at a clip that will make the defense care?
To make it more muddled, Smith is just not a passer or playmaker to much degree at this stage, which is a tough sell for a team that's just as predicated on ball movement as Golden State.
His defense is also hard to stomach for a title contender at the moment. He does offer shot-blocking and some mobility, but he's more of a tweener big than a true 4 or 5, which outright is not a problem. But, it makes it harder to envision him spending time alongside McGee or Ayton to find easier ways to get him minutes. He's better offensively at the 5, but he's pretty lost as a primary rim-protector right now. However, there have been some great sequences from him blowing up plays at the rim or playing out in space, even with some viable switching.
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But, more often than not, Smith is caught in the wrong place with poor positioning leading to fouls or wide-open plays at or around the rim.
To be fair to Smith, he hasn't even played 50 NBA games in his career! But again, I'm not under the impression that Phoenix can necessarily coax the most out of him while dealing with some of the warts of a very raw player.
A five-game swing shouldn't redefine a player, but *this* five game stretch certainly has made me question what to think more than most. I don't have an answer for Phoenix; the organization seemingly made its bed by <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/suns-decline-thirdyear-option-on-2020-lottery-pick-jalen-smith" target="_blank" rel="noopener">not extending Smith a qualifying offer</a> this offseason.
How much has this recent play raised the eyebrows of other teams looking to try and make a move for a young talent? It's one of the more intriguing storylines to track moving forward, and most importantly, I'm stoked for Jalen Smith. It's awesome to see him finally put some good tape together.
Aaron Wiggins, Oklahoma City Thunder 
The OKC Thunder have quietly played .500 basketball over the last few weeks, and have dispelled the preseason notions that they could be worse than "The Process" Sixers. The Thunder are in a much different place than the playoff hopefuls above, still searching for the players who will comprise their next playoff push alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Nothing is set in stone, but rookie Aaron Wiggins has put together one of the best stretches by a young role player in the NBA this season.
After a DNP-CD on Dec. 22 against Denver, Wiggins has started the past six games, averaging 14.7 points on 66.3% True Shooting while hitting 40.0% of his threes and getting to the line at a decent rate.
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Wiggins has a downhill guile that I just love and find invaluable in a player who's operating off the ball primarily. He's not bursty, but he operates quickly, loves throwing ball fakes, low swings and stutters to give himself an extra hair of space; it just works. Is he going to shoot 80% at the rim for life? No way, but he's flashing some quality finishes through contact, and has attempted more self-created looks in the half-court as well (to varying degrees of success).
There's a twitchiness there with his upper body that allows him to maneuver well through tight space, but his legs aren't always on the same page. Coordination as a ball-handler is not easy! Just ask Darius Bazley.&nbsp;
I really liked what I saw of him at Maryland, but wasn't expecting him to have an early impact and continue to be impressed. I want to see him shoot way more from deep. He has a quick release, but doesn't get a ton of pop on his jump, which feels like it plays into him not being fully comfortable gunning yet; he hasn't played 20 games to this point.
But I cannot wait to see more from Wiggins moving forward.&nbsp;

Deep rotation players are taking full advantage of opportunities created by missed games due to COVID by playing larger roles.

4 rotation players making the most of NBA roster inconsistency

Don't watch the ball when you're watching Tyler Herro.
You normally reserve that type of request when trying to get a better handle on team defense. Peep the scheme, learn the cadence of rotations &mdash; you know, the nuts and bolts of the less-appreciated end of the floor.&nbsp;
But I'm not referencing defense in this case. Don't watch the ball with Herro, even when he has the ball.
You may miss out on the slightly tighter handle, the cleaner in-and-out dribbles he uses to reject picks. You'll miss the head fakes he uses to sell his moves. Might even miss the snarl he unleashes on occasion after big buckets.
But that's okay. You can come back to that, eventually.
To fully understand the leap Herro has made this season &mdash; one that's taken him from a solid secondary to a 20-point scorer and Sixth Man of the Year front-runner &mdash; you have to start with his footwork.
It's light. It's coordinated. Balletic, even.<a href="https://twitter.com/NekiasNBA/status/1476015240920051712?s=20"> Some may say</a> it's among the league's best. But it's the foundation of everything he does.
Herro's shooting touch is easy to see, but it means little if he isn't able to access defensive windows to showcase it. His improved handle helps him navigates space, but his footwork unlocks a new world of real estate. Take this three from Miami's recent win over the Washington Wizards. Look at how economical this is from Herro.
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You'll notice just how delicately he moves &mdash; on his toes, ready to change directions or speeds at a moment's notice. Look at how he utilizes his right foot to both sell the drive (while sending Deni Avdija stumbling), and to explode backwards into a stepback jumper.
While Herro isn't able to consistently blow by guys off the strength of his burst or handles, his ability to decelerate and gather allows him to generate ridiculous separation.
Because of this, Herro has become Miami's most versatile &mdash; and most trusted &mdash; shot-maker. Over two-thirds of his two-point attempts have been unassisted this season, a massive leap from last season (54%). 33% of Herro's threes have been unassisted, a lower but still noticeable rise from the 27.1%. clip he posted the season before.
On stepback and pull-up jumpers, Herro has posted an Effective Field Goal percentage (eFG) of 47.8, per Second Spectrum. That&rsquo;s keeping pace with noted shot-makers like Bradley Beal (47.7), Khris Middleton (45.1), Luka Doncic (44.4), Brandon Ingram (43.1) and Paul George (41.6).&nbsp;
Herro isn't touching the paint as often as he did last season, but he is converting at-the-rim shots at a career-best mark (69%). He's added strength &mdash;<a href="https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nba/tyler-herro-sizzling-for-the-heat-again-after-offseason-transformation"> eating five meals a day</a> to add body mass during the summer &mdash; to make it easier to ward off defenders on his way to the basket. Being able to stop and pop is a valuable weapon, but it's even more dangerous if it can be complemented by all-out drives.
He is driving more frequently &mdash; and getting fouled more often on those drives. He's done a better job of absorbing blows, but he also has counters to make his rim trips more fruitful. Wrong-foot finishes. Early, gliding gathers. He's crouching even lower on drives to gain inside leverage on defenders, creating clean finishing windows for himself.
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And that's just what he's able to do on the ball. Off the ball, Herro's a smart mover in and outside of structure. He's a threat to pop outside or cut to the rim when the Heat go to their vaunted split action, the East Coast version of the Golden State Death Machine. Herro's knocking down 70% of his shots off cuts, and nearly 43% of his relocation threes, per Second Spectrum.
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Herro's leap has been one of the biggest reasons the Heat have been able to stay afloat near the top of the Eastern Conference, despite injuries to their two best players. His 20.6 points per game ranks second on the Heat, but leads all (regular) bench scorers in the league by a pretty solid margin. The difference between Herro and second place Kelly Oubre (16.0 points per game off the bench) is roughly the same as Oubre's gap to 12th place Cedi Osman.
Herro made waves before the season when he said he should be talked about in the same class as Luka Doncic, Trae Young and other young stars in the league. He may not be in that class, but that assertion doesn't seem as ludicrous as it did before the season started. He's balling, and there isn't much reason to believe he can't get even better.
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Nekias Duncan breaks down the third-year leap of Heat guard Tyler Herro.