The Hornets silenced Kyrie Irving’s home debut. Things in Charlotte are trending up
.JPG "Charlotte Hornets forward P.J. Washington (25) celebrates after forward Cody Martin (11) scores in the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Brooklyn Nets, Sunday, March 27, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)")
With Brooklyn’s Kyrie Irving set to finally make his home debut, a tidal wave of emotion awaited the Charlotte Hornets.
After all, this was the same guy that dropped 50 points on them a few weeks ago. The Hornets were fully aware of what was impending in an expected soupy environment at Barclays Center on Sunday night.
“We’ve got to throw the first blow, too,” coach James Borrego said beforehand. “We’ve got to come out aggressive. If you are on your heels against this team, they are going to win that battle.”
Brooklyn’s excitement was undeniable. The Hornets also had some extra motivation.
“We felt like we owed them,” PJ Washington said after their 119-110 victory over the Nets. “They came in our place and beat us pretty bad. So everybody was locked in this morning from walkthrough. So we came in and did what we had to do. Everybody was locked in and everybody contributed.”
That’s one of the things that made the Hornets’ win all the more impressive and gets you pondering about their playoff potential. They’re an intriguing bunch capable of wreaking some havoc when they really have everything clicking.
In a game the Hornets (39-36) needed for a variety of reasons as they inch closer to officially clinching at least a spot in the play-in tournament, they displayed great poise in the waning minutes. The Hornets weren’t fazed when they fell into a 14-point first-half deficit or when a nine-point fourth-quarter advantage evaporated. Instead, they made the pertinent plays to secure another signature victory in a season that suddenly has promise again with them winning eight of their last nine games following a 4-13 span.
“I’m just proud of the guys’ resiliency,” Borrego said. “We knew they were going to come in a wave or waves throughout the game. We knew we had to withstand that and we had to throw a punch back. And we did that. We just kept throwing and our wave kept coming. We just believe that our wave over the course of 48 minutes is going to win out. So our opponents might find a little bit of momentum there, but in a 48-minute game I trust these 10 guys in the rotation. ... Just really proud of the group.”
Spoiling Irving’s first home outing this season and quieting most in the largest crowd ever to watch a game in the arena’s decade-old history could have a huge impact on the Hornets. Although they’re now technically tied with Brooklyn for eighth place in the Eastern Conference with seven regular-season games remaining, the Hornets leapfrogged the Nets in the standings by virtue of holding the head-to-head tiebreaker.
“It means a lot,” LaMelo Ball said. “We take every game the same, just go in and get the win. That’s what we did tonight and we are pretty much locked in on the next game.”
They better be. Or their potential momentum builder becomes ancient history.
Remember, things change at warp speed these days in the NBA and especially in the East, as the Philadelphia 76ers found out when they dropped from first to fourth in a matter of hours Sunday. And don’t forget the Hornets caught the Nets on the tail end of a back-to-back — which has been a frequent occurrence for Charlotte during this recent winning stretch — and have their own date with an opponent less than 24 hours after playing on the road, too. Denver arrives at Spectrum Center on Monday night eager to avenge its December defeat.
But at least for now the Hornets still have a realistic shot to host at least one game in the play-in tournament, which is something they can only do if they avoid finishing where they landed last season, 10th place.
Here’s what’s scary: The Hornets closed Brooklyn out thanks to receiving some major contributions from nearly everyone. Isaiah Thomas drained a clutch 3-pointer, as did Terry Rozier and Bridges. Cody Martin had a pair of huge 3-pointers, including a running one-handed with the shot clock set to expire and the Hornets holding on by a point.
“It was a whole lot of fun,” Ball said. “Definitely needed that win. Cody stepped up big. T-Ro and M.B. Those threes in the end were real clutch. So, yeah, it was a great game.”
Seven different players cracked into the scoring column in the fourth and Ball wasn’t even one of them, which had to be a confidence-booster for the group. Ball poured in a game-best 33 points and the Hornets still managed to beat the Nets without him adding to that over the final 12 minutes.
And, by the way, they could still have Gordon Hayward back by season’s end.
“The strength of our team has been our depth all year,” Borrego said. “The depth of our roster, the versatility … We have a number of ‘5s’ I can play. I like Mason (Plumlee), I like Trez (Montrezl Harrell) and I like playing small. And all those things, it’s a problem for many teams right now, that we can play different lineups.
“We can play small, we can play with two point guards, we can play big at times if we need to. So the strength of our team is our depth and our versatility. And you are seeing it right now.”
The burning question is will it continue to show up over these next few weeks? Handling prosperity is going to be key for them as they navigate the remainder of the season; their tilt with the Nuggets continues a sequence of four games in six days, concluding with a trip back to New York for a matchup against the Knicks on Wednesday.
“Yeah, definitely got to follow up (with a) win after win,” Ball said. “We can’t really have a win and then a loss, stuff like that. So, we are definitely going to try to come in (Monday) ready and try to get that win, too.”
This story was originally published March 28, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
