A career night from 3 for Charlotte Hornets’ Kemba Walker
At shootaround Wednesday morning, Charlotte Hornets point guard Kemba Walker said he’d love to replace injured Kevin Love in the Feb. 18 All-Star Game. Consider Walker’s performance against the Atlanta Hawks making his case.
Walker made a career-high nine 3-pointers, finishing with 38 points to dominate the Hawks 123-110 at Philips Arena. The victory broke a two-game losing streak, improving the Hornets to 21-29.
Walker made his All-Star Game debut last February, elected a reserve by the Eastern Conference coaches. He missed that cut this season, but Love’s broken hand means NBA commissioner Adam Silver will select a replacement for the Cleveland Cavaliers’ power forward. Walker certainly seems in the discussion for that spot. A decision should come soon from the league office.
Hornets guard Nic Batum assembled a triple-double of 10 points, 10 assists and 11 rebounds. Center Dwight Howard finished with 20 points and 12 boards.
The Hawks got 25 points from Kent Bazemore.
Three who mattered
Walker: When he’s hot from 3-point range, and opponents have to get up on him, it’s so easy for him to blow by the defense for a layup.
Howard: So maybe he enjoys reminding the Hawks what they gave away in that June trade.
Marco Belinelli: The former Hornet scored two points off the bench for the Hawks, making four of his first five shots from the field.
Observations
▪ Power forward Marvin Williams missed his first game of the season, after he sprained his left ankle against the Indiana Pacers Monday. It’s unclear how long he will be out, but Williams said at practice Tuesday that the swelling has not been bad, so he thinks he won’t be out for an extended period.
▪ With Williams out, power forward Frank Kaminsky made his first start of the season. With Kaminsky moving into the starting lineup, Clifford’s options as the backup at power forward are now Johnny O’Bryant, Treveon Graham and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.
▪ Center Cody Zeller continues to inch closer to being activated, after having mid-December surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. Zeller has now twice scrimmaged 3-on-3 without negative effect. There’s at least an outside chance Zeller could play in Friday’s home game against the Pacers. More likely, he will return sometime during the four-game West Coast trip.
▪ This was Atlanta native Dwight Howard’s first game in his hometown since the Hawks traded him to the Hornets in June. Howard said last week, before a home game against the Hawks, that he wanted to “kill” his former team. He was more understated at shootaround Wednesday morning, telling media he wasn’t interested in reflecting on his one season with the Hawks.
Worth mentioning
▪ The Hawks did a “thank you” video for Howard during a first-quarter timeout.
▪ Attendance at Philips (not tickets distributed, actual attendance) must have been brutal. At tipoff, there were entire sections with no more than a half-dozen fans.
▪ Friday against the Pacers is the Hornets’ only home game in an eight-game span. They leave Saturday for a four-game West Coast trip that starts Sunday in Phoenix.
Report card
A+ OFFENSE: Everything looks easy when a team hovers around 50 percent from 3-point range.
C DEFENSE: Not a great night guarding, but the Hornets dominated the rebounding..
B COACHING: Avoided going winless on this three-game road trip.
Rick Bonnell: 704-358-5129, @rick_bonnell
Hornets 123, Hawks 110
CHARLOTTE (123)—Kidd-Gilchrist 5-7 0-0 10, Kaminsky 4-10 2-3 11, Howard 8-13 4-5 20, Walker 12-20 5-7 38, Batum 4-9 1-1 10, Bacon 0-0 0-0 0, O’Bryant III 2-8 0-0 5, Monk 1-3 0-0 3, Carter-Williams 1-4 0-0 2, Stone 0-0 0-0 0, Lamb 4-8 0-0 10, Graham 5-8 2-2 14. Totals 46-90 14-18 123.
ATLANTA (110)—Prince 0-2 0-0 0, Ilyasova 5-10 0-0 11, Plumlee 1-2 0-0 2, Schroder 6-14 1-2 13, Bazemore 8-11 6-6 25, Babbitt 1-1 0-0 2, Muscala 2-4 0-0 6, Collins 5-6 2-2 12, Dedmon 3-4 2-2 9, Delaney 0-4 0-0 0, Taylor 0-0 1-2 1, Dorsey 2-7 2-2 7, Belinelli 6-12 6-6 22. Totals 39-77 20-22 110.
Charlotte | 35 | 29 | 33 | 26 | — | 123 |
Atlanta | 28 | 24 | 32 | 26 | — | 110 |
3-Point Goals—Charlotte 17-32 (Walker 9-13, Lamb 2-2, Graham 2-3, Monk 1-1, O’Bryant III 1-2, Kaminsky 1-4, Batum 1-4, Carter-Williams 0-3), Atlanta 12-32 (Belinelli 4-7, Bazemore 3-5, Muscala 2-3, Dedmon 1-1, Dorsey 1-4, Ilyasova 1-4, Delaney 0-1, Prince 0-2, Schroder 0-5). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Charlotte 42 (Howard 12), Atlanta 29 (Muscala, Dedmon 5). Assists—Charlotte 29 (Batum 10), Atlanta 26 (Schroder 9). Total Fouls—Charlotte 21, Atlanta 16. Technicals—Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer, Bazemore. A—13,103 (19,049).
This story was originally published January 31, 2018 at 10:08 PM with the headline "A career night from 3 for Charlotte Hornets’ Kemba Walker."