What a game for the Charlotte Hornets tonight, as they lost 102-95 to the 2023 NBA Champion Denver Nuggets, but they came away with some stellar highlights and delivered one absolutely incredible second-quarter sequence — one sure to be discussed by Hornets fans for quite a while.
Also, the long-injured Cody Martin returned to the Hornets' active roster for the first time since January — he nailed six points. Newbie Nick Smith Jr. showed his stuff, and Nick Richards held his own against Denver's Nikola Jokić. P.J. Washington was aggressive, coming away in the end with 20 points and eight rebounds.
The Hornets started strong early in the game, leading by ten at the first timeout. Great passing and strong defense by Charlotte pointed to a probable win, but this ended up being their largest lead of the night as the score bounced back and forth for a bit. To end the second quarter, what could arguably be the Hornets sequence of the year saw a Miles Bridges dunk after a lob from Richards, immediately followed by a Bridges steal, a Gordon Hayward dunk, and a Bridges block.
That wasn't all the goodness cooking in the Charlotte squad this Saturday before the holiday. As noted, Smith Jr. proved his meddle in clutch time as the game wound down, scoring 17 points in the fourth. At that point, the Hornets' home crowd atmosphere inside Spectrum Center was electric. Still, in the end, it was another Hornets loss — that makes it their seventh loss in a row. Tonight was the Hornets' final home game of 2023, and now they head out on a road trip.
Best of the Night: Nick Richards
At center, the Richards–Jokić matchup was already sure to be one to watch. But Richards came out on fire to start the game, working magic on both ends of the floor. With two minutes left in the first quarter, Richards had three of the Hornets' six blocks. Starting center Mark Williams is still injured, though Hornets coach Steve Clifford signaled he'd be back soon. Still, it's good to know Richards can work the floor come crunch time, especially against a presence like Joker.
Injury Update
Brandon Miller went to the locker room with a sprained right ankle he suffered in the first quarter and didn't return. The go-ahead for Martin came just before the game, as did word of Terry Rozier's unavailability for tonight.
Up Next: The Hornets travel to Los Angeles to face the Clippers on Tuesday (Dec. 26) at 10:30 PM EST.
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