CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It had a familiar plot.
Holding onto leads had been a huge issue for the Charlotte Hornets and directly resulted in them losing four of their first five home games leading into Wednesday’s game against Portland, and Steve Clifford’s reasoning for it was simple.
“Our problem has been we are playing without our best offensive players,” the coach said. “So Terry (Rozier) is back now and he makes a big difference. But we’ve played for the most part … when you get down to the last five, six minutes of an NBA game that’s who you want to have, Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard. That’s how you get two to the ball. And having Terry helps a lot, especially when he gets back in rhythm. But that’s the tough part — when you lose your primary scorers.”
Yet another game without LaMelo Ball and Gordon Hayward produced the same result. Done in by a mostly lackluster second half, the Hornets fell to Portland 105-95 at Spectrum Center on Wednesday night.
Here’s what we learned in the Hornets’ sixth consecutive loss and seventh in their past eight games:
Roller-coaster ride
Blink and one might’ve missed it.
The game turned in the third quarter for the Hornets, which felt like a headscratcher since they came out with a serious charge to begin the second half. A 19-2 spurt transformed a five-point halftime deficit into a 12-point advantage.
But it was short-lived.
Portland seized control with a 16-4 run to square things at 72 and seized control from there. Cold shooting victimized the Hornets the rest of the way while Portland kept pouring it on, racking up more than its share of and-1s.
Bench mobbed
While the Hornets’ starters each cracked double figures in scoring, they just couldn’t get quite enough from their reserves to help push them over the top against Portland.
The Trail Blazers’ bench outscored the Hornets 35-22. Jalen McDaniels and James Bouknight combined for two-thirds of the Hornets’ points, and Charlotte didn’t get anything from the backup point guard position.
Shaeden Sharpe served as Portland’s main catalyst off the bench, producing a season-high 17 points, and the Hornets had issues containing the guy who was selected No. 7 overall in the draft in June.
Kelly picks it up
Despite pouring in 20 points in Monday’s loss, Kelly Oubre didn’t really like his overall performance. Oubre thought he should have done more, pointing to his lack of rebounds and minuscule production in other categories.
Oubre made a conscious effort to crash the boards, collecting seven. That was fueled in part by a season-best three offensive rebounds.
Billups a fan of Dennis Smith Jr.
The last time Dennis Smith Jr. saw a Portland uniform, he was actually wearing one.
Guess that’s why he looked so fired up playing against the Trail Blazers. Smith Jr. came out with a purpose in the opening quarter, matching his season-high in points in a quarter with nine on 4-of-4 shooting.
He also has a reverse dunk and even let out a little scream afterward, perhaps to remind Portland of his skills. Smith Jr. even playfully headbutted the ball after it went through the hoop on a fastbreak layup, an indicator he was having some fun against the guys he suited up with for 37 games in 2021-22 before he was waived in February as he recovered from an elbow injury.
Smith Jr. glared over at the Portland bench after a third-quarter putback dunk over Lillard, who he guarded most of the night, picking him up full court. The 24-year-old was definitely into it.
“We had a lot of tough days last year as a team,” Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said. “I had a lot of tough days. One of my toughest days was cutting Dennis away. I was in love with Dennis all year long. He embodies what I believe in. I believe everyone is kind of seeing that now, but the way he came to practice every day, his back was against the wall — he changed our team.
“We won a lot more games than we probably should have. Obviously, he’s an elite defender, he’s in a position to get it to the paint, he makes plays for everyone. I’ll text him sometimes this season and just tell him how proud I am of him.”
