CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A potential laugher turned into a nailbiter, causing more than a few anxious murmurs to reverberate around Spectrum Center in the waning minutes of Friday night’s game between the Charlotte Hornets and Washington Wizards.
The Hornets were cruising and rolling all over Washington — and it’s been a while since they experienced that kind of luxury, given their injury-ravaged roster. Those breezy conditions gave way to a tense fourth quarter, and things slowly began crumbling, nearly completely unraveling, in numbing fashion.
But the Hornets made just enough plays in the final seconds to pull out a 117-116 victory, aided by Wizards star Bradley Beal missing a potential go-ahead 13-footer with 3.3 seconds left.
The Hornets nearly blew a 22-point lead and were outscored, 28-10, in the fourth quarter.
Building up confidence with a 74-point outburst in the first half, which represented the most they’ve stockpiled in a 24-minute span since tossing in 78 in Chicago in April, the Hornets (7-15) had it all working against the Wizards and turned in one of their most complete performances of the season before they succumbed to Washington in the second half.
Here are some key takeaways from the Hornets’ third win in their past four games:
That’s offensive
Despite Washington being among the league’s top three rebounding teams, the Hornets controlled the boards early before the Wizards hit the glass hard in the second half, and it spurred them to a decent disparity in second-chance points.
The Hornets collected 19 offensive rebounds, fueled by swiping an impressive nine in the first quarter alone. That’s the most they amassed in a quarter this season, and it was the catalyst for stockpiling a season-high 13 offensive rebounds in the first half.
Getting those extra opportunities were big and a necessity for the Hornets.
Oubre accepting challenge
Kelly Oubre is getting it done in a variety of ways for the Hornets, and the latest example came against the Wizards, his former team. Oubre is known for his offensive explosions, but he fully embraced his defensive assignment and took on the challenge of trying to contain Beal.
Although Beal posted 33 points, a flurry of them came in his 14-point second quarter when Oubre wasn’t defending him. Oubre did draw a second-quarter charge on Taj Gibson while fighting through a screen chasing Beal, the kind of effort that isn’t going unnoticed.
“He’s guarding primary scorers almost every night,” Hornets coach Steve Clifford said. “When he was younger, his better defensive days were when he played for the Wizards, playing with Brad and John (Wall) and those guys. I think he’s getting back to that. He’s played big, big minutes. We need him to.
“The other thing he’s done in the last three games especially, he’s become much more balanced. He’s getting the ball going to the basket, which was another thing he did when he was younger. I think that puts him in a different place.”
McGowens sighting
A surprise addition received some key minutes, testing out the Hornets’ depth.
With Gordon Hayward sitting out for the third straight game and 11th occasion in the Hornets’ past 14 games, Clifford switched things up and gave Bryce McGowens meaningful action. And the rookie was solid.
McGowens totaled four points in 20 minutes and got unlucky on a couple of drives to the basket, watching his shot spin out. He also attacked the rim ferociously, trying to throw down a pair of dunks, and got fouled on one aggressive attempt.
Clifford went with a three-guard lineup initially while McGowens was on the floor, putting him out there with Theo Maledon and Terry Rozier. It was a combination Clifford hadn’t previously utilized, a sign of just how much he has to search for the right combinations while navigating through the Hornets’ rash of injuries. McGowens leapfrogged a struggling James Bouknight in the rotation for one night at least, and certainly left a good impression.
