Kelly Oubre Jr. spoils 20-point comeback for Hornets; Charlotte loses to Suns by 5
The Charlotte Hornets blew a five-point lead in the final minute, after they had recovered from a 20-point deficit, falling to the Phoenix Suns 109-104.
Kelly Oubre Jr. (23 points) made two 3-pointers in that last minute for the Suns, including one off a missed free throw, giving Phoenix back the lead 105-104 with 19.8 seconds left.
On the following possession, Devonte Graham (15 points and 13 rebounds) lost the ball out of bounds off the handoff from P.J. Washington, and then Miles Bridges fouled out the next play with 14 seconds left, sending Suns guard Ricky Rubio to the line. Rubio made both free throws to extend Phoenix’s lead to three.
Graham launched a 3-pointer with nine seconds left that fell short of the rim. Terry Rozier fouled Suns guard Devin Booker with 7.9 seconds remaining, and the Hornets wouldn’t get any closer.
Marvin Williams scored a season-high 22 points off the bench for the Hornets, who fell to 8-14. The Suns improved to 9-10.
Good buzz
Williams has been flexible about whatever Borrego needs from him. He said last season it wasn’t important to him whether he started or came off the bench, so being in the second unit this season has been no imposition.
He will always be a defensive asset, in part as an organizer, and once in a while he can still score in bunches the way he did Monday.
Bee stings
The Hornets seemed to be making progress of late at cutting down on turnovers, committing 25 over their last three games heading into Monday. That changed starkly in the first quarter against the Suns, when they gave away the ball nine times. By halftime, the turnovers had risen to 15, seven short of their high for a game this season. They finished with 19 turnovers.
Building blocks
Washington, a rookie first-round draft pick, is working through how much he can get away with defensively without fouling. He hasn’t fouled out, but he committed four fouls in his first 13 minutes Monday. Twice in the last eight games, he committed five fouls, one shy of disqualification. Coach James Borrego burned a coach’s challenge a couple of games ago in the first half, trying to get a third Washington foul rescinded. It didn’t work.
Beyond the numbers
Nic Batum left this game in the second quarter with what was described as discomfort in his left hand. Batum broke his left middle finger in the season-opener, costing him the next 11 games.
With Batum out, Dwayne Bacon played for just the third time in the past six games after starting the first 10 games of the season. He gave the Hornets their first lead of the game in the fourth quarter with a put-back basket.
