Hornets fall to Warriors 111-101, look to Phoenix for much-needed win

Brother, do the Charlotte Hornets need to take care of business Wednesday night in Phoenix against the Suns.

It is melodramatic to suggest any NBA game played in January is a "must-win." But the Hornets need to take advantage of a team that has struggling even more than they have of late. Wednesday must be about urgency.

The Hornets lost their seventh game in the last nine Monday, falling to the defending champion Golden State Warriors 111-101. The Suns have lost nine in a row and were pummeled Sunday by the 8-27 Los Angeles Lakers, the only team in the Western Conference with a record worse than the 12-25 Suns.

The Suns are about panic these days. Management fired two of coach Jeff Hornacek’s assistants recently and Hornacek’s own job security appears fragile. He might already be gone if he weren’t one of the Suns’ most popular former players.

The 17-17 Hornets need to beat up on somebody and there won’t be a better opportunity to do so anytime in the foreseeable future. January is full of road games and seemingly injuries, too.

Monday the Hornets played again without starting guard Nic Batum, who has a severely sprained toe on his right foot. Batum indicated pre-game it’s unlikely he’ll heal enough to play Wednesday in Phoenix. More likely his return would be Saturday in Los Angeles against the Clippers.

The Hornets are already playing without two other starters, small forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (shoulder surgery) and center Al Jefferson (knee surgery).

They got another scare at halftime, sending Jeremy Lamb for an X-ray after he fell hard on his right wrist. The X-ray showed no fracture and Lamb played in the second half, finishing with a season-high 22 points.

But each time Lamb tried to catch a pass in the second half, you could tell he was favoring what was diagnosed as a deep bruise. Hornets coach Steve Clifford said post-game he expects Lamb to be very sore Tuesday, so it’s no given Lamb will play Wednesday.

Without Kidd-Gilchrist and Batum they’ve already become smaller and less effective defensively. Plus, losing Jefferson’s and Batum’s scoring puts major pressure on point guard Kemba Walker to get the ball through the basket. Walker also scored 22 points Monday, but it took him 21 shots from the field to get there.

The Hornets improved their shooting with their off-season moves, but Monday demonstrated the difference between good shooters and elite shooters. The Warriors’ backcourt of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson each scored 30 points, shooting a combined 23-of-44 from the field and 11-of-21 from 3-point range.

It’s brutal trying to keep up with that much firepower and predictable the Warriors won their 35^th consecutive regular-season home game at Oracle Arena.

Clifford seemed encouraged post-game with how well the Hornets competed considering the circumstances. He’s mentioned frequently of late that the Hornets have gotten off-script with a rise in both turnovers and personal fouls.

The Warriors got to the foul line just six times Monday. Though the Hornets’ 14 turnovers were slightly above average for the season, Clifford liked how they limited second-half giveaways to five.

If they maintain these principles Wednesday against a Suns team that’s all but broken of late, the results should prove far better.

This story was originally published January 4, 2016 at 11:24 PM with the headline "Hornets fall to Warriors 111-101, look to Phoenix for much-needed win."