Charlotte Hornets snap losing streak with victory over Los Angeles Clippers
The Charlotte Hornets were in search of defense and rebounding. They got just enough of both to end a losing streak that had reached six games.
The Hornets held the Los Angeles Clippers to 40 percent shooting from the field for a 102-87 victory at Spectrum Center. Point guard Kemba Walker finished with 26 points and six assists. Center Dwight Howard provided 16 points and 16 rebounds..
Blake Griffin scored 19 and grabbed eight rebounds for the Clippers, who lost their eighth consecutive game. Lou Williams came off the bench for 25 points on 10-of-17 shooting.
On a night when neither team shot well, the Hornets (6-9) took 10 more free-throw attempts than the Clippers.
Three who mattered
Griffin: He heated up fast in the second half, after missing his first six shot attempts of the game.
Walker: Continued his hot shooting, after scoring 47 Friday in Chicago.
Howard: He bounced back from three bad games.
Observations
▪ Walker played Saturday with a sprained left wrist. He immediately hit a 3-pointer in this game, so he didn’t appear hindered, though the wrist was wrapped.
▪ Former South Carolina star Sindarius Thornwell is starting as a Clippers rookie. Coach Doc Rivers said before the game that Thornwell has the potential to be an elite NBA defender.
▪ Reserve point guard Michael Carter-Williams played for the first time in three games, entering the game in the first quarter.
▪ With Carter-Williams playing, rookie Malik Monk did not come in with the second unit late in the first quarter.
▪ The Hornets committed only one first-half turnover, when Howard threw the ball out of bounds.
Worth mentioning
▪ The Hornets entered this game on a six-game losing streak to the Clippers.
▪ Clifford said pre-game he needs to limit Nic Batum’s minutes (back from six weeks off recovering from an elbow injury). That’s in part because the Hornets play five games in nine days.
▪ Hornets reserve Jeremy Lamb left the game in the second half with a strained right hamstring.
Report card
C OFFENSE: They shot pretty well from 3-point range, but the ball movement wasn’t so great.
B DEFENSE: Williams hurt them, but this was a major improvement from Friday in Chicago.
B COACHING: Steve Clifford went with Carter-Williams over Monk for experience and defense.
Rick Bonnell: 704-358-5129, @rick_bonnell
HORNETS 102, CLIPPERS 87
L.A. Clippers | Min | FG-A | FT-A | R | A | F | Pt |
Griffin | 35:23 | 6-17 | 5-7 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 19 |
W.Johnson | 31:46 | 4-11 | 0-0 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 9 |
Jordan | 33:12 | 4-5 | 2-2 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
Rivers | 34:07 | 3-14 | 2-2 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 9 |
Thornwell | 30:45 | 2-5 | 0-0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
L.Williams | 29:20 | 10-17 | 3-6 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 25 |
Dekker | 15:11 | 2-4 | 0-0 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
Evans | 9:51 | 1-4 | 1-2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
Harrell | 8:04 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
C.Williams | 8:03 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Reed | 4:15 | 0-3 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Totals | 240:00 | 33-83 | 13-19 | 44 | 18 | 22 | 87 |
Percentages: FG .398, FT .684. 3-Point Goals: 8-29, .276 (Griffin 2-5, L.Williams 2-6, Thornwell 1-2, Dekker 1-3, W.Johnson 1-4, Rivers 1-6, C.Williams 0-1, Evans 0-2). Team Rebounds: 12. Team Turnovers: 14 (19 PTS). Blocked Shots: 6 (Jordan 2, W.Johnson 2, Griffin, Harrell). Turnovers: 14 (L.Williams 4, Griffin 3, Jordan 3, Rivers 3, Thornwell). Steals: 5 (Thornwell 2, Harrell, Rivers, W.Johnson).
Charlotte | Min | FG-A | FT-A | R | A | F | Pt |
Kidd-Gilchrist | 31:00 | 2-7 | 3-4 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 7 |
M.Williams | 28:28 | 4-9 | 0-0 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 10 |
Howard | 29:41 | 7-10 | 2-6 | 16 | 1 | 2 | 16 |
Batum | 28:06 | 4-11 | 3-3 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 12 |
Walker | 35:51 | 8-17 | 4-4 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 26 |
Lamb | 22:27 | 5-12 | 5-5 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 17 |
Kaminsky | 19:31 | 1-9 | 0-0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Zeller | 18:20 | 2-3 | 1-1 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 5 |
Carter-Williams | 14:35 | 0-4 | 5-6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
Bacon | 12:01 | 1-5 | 0-0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Totals | 240:00 | 34-87 | 23-29 | 49 | 20 | 16 | 102 |
Percentages: FG .391, FT .793. 3-Point Goals: 11-26, .423 (Walker 6-9, Lamb 2-3, M.Williams 2-4, Batum 1-4, Bacon 0-1, Carter-Williams 0-1, Kaminsky 0-4). Team Rebounds: 10. Team Turnovers: 8 (3 PTS). Blocked Shots: 9 (Batum 2, M.Williams 2, Carter-Williams, Howard, Kaminsky, Kidd-Gilchrist, Zeller). Turnovers: 8 (Howard 3, Batum 2, Lamb 2, Bacon). Steals: 7 (Howard 2, Lamb 2, Batum, Kidd-Gilchrist, M.Williams). Technical Fouls: Howard, 4:40 fourth.
L.A. Clippers | 24 | 22 | 25 | 16 | — | 87 |
Charlotte | 25 | 30 | 18 | 29 | — | 102 |
Att.—17,640 (19,077). T—2:11.
Officials—Phenizee Ransom, Michael Smith, John Goble
This story was originally published November 18, 2017 at 9:32 PM with the headline "Charlotte Hornets snap losing streak with victory over Los Angeles Clippers."