The Charlotte Hornets came out ready to play against the Minnesota Timberwolves. They held a strong lead all four quarters and managed to blow out them out by 18 points, 133-115. It was easily the best defensive game that the Hornets have played this season.
They switched pick & rolls, got up into defenders on the perimeter, and contested every shot that the T-wolves got up. From chase-down blocks or playing the passing lanes, the Hornets were every where on defense tonight. James Borrego said it was “no secret” that defense fueled their win tonight.
“It's not a secret,” the Hornets coach said. “We have to defend at a high level and compete are tails off and find a way to close out games. Theres no hanging our heads, we're resilient. and the formula is to continue to play hard, together, and play for one another.”
The Hornets defense has been a key to a lot of their wins this season. They've managed to win seven of their last eight games, after losing five straight games before going on this run. They have gotten crucial stops down the stretches of games. However, three-point shooting has been a huge contribution to their wins as well. Borrego mentioned that as well in the win over the T-Wolves.
“We obviously shot the ball very well, but the ball was moving too. This profile has been there for the last 10 games, just tonight it all came together on our home court, everybody making shots and obviously, when you’re doing that, you are going to score like we did tonight. This isn’t the first time we have seen ball movement like this, but tonight the difference was that the shots were going through the net tonight. That was great to see.”
Hornets veteran Gordon Hayward also piggy-backed off of Borrego's statement. Saying that:
“I thought we really shared the ball tonight and that was good. I thought we got inside out, made the extra pass, getting out in transition. We just have so many weapons. We have so many guys that can fill it up. We’re tough to guard when we share the ball like that. It was good.”
Hayward benefited off of the great ball movement and finished with 18 points, six rebounds, six assist, and three huge blocks. Talk about leaving your mark.
The headline everyone wanted to see was the Rookie of the Year vs. the runner-up from last year, LaMelo Ball and Anthony Edwards. They didn't have their best games, Ball finished 10 points, six rebounds, 13 assists, while Edwards had 11 points and five rebounds. Not the craziest of stat lines, but Ball won the game and finished with his eighth double-double of the season.
The Hornets are right back on the road for their next one against the Houston Rockets. Who have a young team that loves to run. Despite their record being well below .500, it's not a team you'd like to play on the second end of a back-to-back.
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