CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It was Mascot Day inside Spectrum Center, bringing together a collection of furry friends from the area and all over the country.
Homer the Dragon of the Charlotte Knights joined the likes of Chicago’s Benny the Bull, Phoenix’s Gorilla and, of course, Hugo the Hornet to entertain the masses. They tossed up one-handed over-the-shoulder trick shots from halfcourt and when Hugo hit his, a massive cheer erupted from the sellout crowd of 19,254.
For a while, it felt as if that was the pinnacle of the afternoon for Charlotte Hornets fans.
But they were treated to a gritty second-half effort by the home team, which found a way to close it out against their Southeast Division nemesis. The Hornets rode an offensive explosion paired with decent defense to pull out a 122-117 win over Miami.
“They are a good team, obviously, and they are hard to play against,” coach Steve Clifford said. “And you have to have a lot of guys play well. We had a lot of guys play well. Guys off the bench, the starters. And we hung in there. When we were down or they made their runs, we made some plays and, again, hopefully (it’s) something we can build on.”
Things are slowly turning in the right direction for the Hornets (15-36) after weeks of frustration. Although they’ve now won successive games for just the third occasion this season, they collected their fourth victory in their last six outings.
Here are some key takeaways from the Hornets’ win over the Heat:
PJ’s key third
When the Hornets were struggling and on the verge of succumbing to the Heat at the outset of the second half, PJ Washington stepped up in a big way.
Washington poured in 15 points in the third quarter, draining three 3-pointers. It marked the second time he’s netted that many in a quarter.
Just how much did he carry the Hornets on his shoulders? Washington accounted for 63.3% of Charlotte’s offense in the third quarter.
LaMelo heats up late
Rust seems to be affecting the Hornets’ star point guard.
LaMelo Ball didn’t look overly sharp early on, essentially picking up where he left off in the Hornets’ win over Chicago on Thursday when he didn’t have the touch. He canned just 2 of 10 attempts through the first three quarters prior to finding the stroke with a 5-for-7 showing in the fourth, posting 13 huge points.
Despite those offensive struggles, he had a hand in the Hornets hanging with Miami (28-23) in the first half.
“I know he had some turnovers, but he was great against the zone in the first half,” Clifford said. “So, it won’t show up, but we were getting the ball to better places against their zone than we did in the first two games and it was primarily his passing. He did a lot of good things.”
Besides an uncharacteristic seven turnovers, Ball also didn’t get to the free throw line in the same manner as he had recently. He took just one in 26 minutes against Miami, signaling he wasn’t able to penetrate into the lane much.
He averaged 6.8 free throws per game in his previous five outings, including a season-high 11 in their victory over Chicago on Thursday.
“I think for him it’s a big part of his growth,” Clifford said. “It’s something we talked about this summer — getting to the free throw line more. He’s very efficient. If you look at last year, he was very efficient everywhere except right at the rim. So, getting fouled more can make a difference.
“He’s playing down there more on the baseline. He’s a great passer down there and puts a lot more pressure on the defense. Getting to the free throw line for any primary scorer makes a big difference.”
Can’t see double without Cody
Cody Martin is apparently still hurting because there’s no way the Hornets’ swingman wanted to miss their outing against the Heat.
After finishing his pregame workout, instead of preparing for a rare matchup against his twin brother Caleb, Cody Martin had to settle for the next best thing: catching up with his sibling while sitting courtside after they both completed their early regimens. The two spent a lot of time chatting it up with their longtime trainer Omar Khanani, probably reminiscing about their days together up in The Triangle.
For Cody Martin, it marked the seventh straight game he’s been unavailable following a six-game stint when he initially returned from Nov. 11 arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. There’s still no definitive timetable on when Martin, who’s played in just seven games all season, will be back in the mix for the Hornets.
“Just being careful,” Clifford said. “He’s able to do some stuff, but he just doesn’t feel right. So you just don’t want to do something where, again, it’s the rest of the season or something like that. He’s such a good player and so valuable for our team. He did a little bit more (Saturday), but he didn’t do much in practice. But at least he’s out there doing shooting now and where a couple of days ago, he wasn’t doing it.”
