The Charlotte Hornets’ NBA Cup struggles kept right on rolling Friday night, and this one turned ugly fast. Washington walked out with a 95-79 win, and Charlotte’s offense spent most of the night looking stuck in mud.
There was a brief stretch early when it seemed like the Hornets might make a game of it. They grabbed a lead that got as large as 10 in the first quarter, but the shooting touch vanished soon after.
By halftime, Charlotte had already gone just 6-for-23 from three, and the damage kept piling up because the Hornets also had trouble defending without fouling. Washington took a five-point lead into the break after getting to the line, with Anthony Davis’ work in the paint helping produce eight of the Wizards’ 19 first-half free throws.
The break didn’t change much. If anything, the Hornets came back colder.
Charlotte shot 3-for-17 from deep in the third quarter, and Brandon Miller didn’t knock down his first triple of the night until the 5:31 mark. The looks were there often enough, even plenty of wide-open ones, but the ball just wasn’t going down.
It was the kind of night that made Charlotte look like a team missing 40% of its starting lineup. The shot creation rarely showed up, and when it did, the possession often ended with a miss.
Miller’s run of 30-point games came to an end as he finished with 19 points on 7-for-24 shooting, including 3-for-13 from beyond the arc. Naz Reid, in his first game back after being benched in the second half against Detroit, added 12 points and 11 rebounds. As a team, Charlotte shot 30% from the field, which put this among the club’s roughest offensive outings in recent memory.
Davis was the top scorer for Washington and finished with another double-double against Charlotte, putting up 25 points on 8-for-18 shooting and 13 rebounds. It was his second double-double against the Hornets this season.
The loss dropped Charlotte to 2-11 all-time in NBA Cup group play. The Hornets get another chance on November 6 against the Boston Celtics at home, and they’ll need that one if they want to keep any hope of advancing.
Before that, Charlotte is back in the Queen City tomorrow night for a Halloween matchup against LeBron James and his new team, the Philadelphia 76ers. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. ET.
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Lee made clear after the game that the issue was not just about performance, but about Reid not meeting the level the staff expects. The two addressed it afterward and said they are moving forward, though the episode leaves Charlotte with another reminder that even in a season of development, the details off the box score can carry real weight. [Read more 🡒]
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Dennis Schrder is also on the report with a right foot issue, and that could leave Charlotte dangerously thin at point guard if he cannot go. Washington has its own injury concerns, but the Wizards also arrive with a new wrinkle in rookie AJ Dybantsa, who made his NBA debut and scored 19 points against Cleveland on 8-of-12 shooting, giving this matchup a little extra intrigue even before the Hornets settle their rotation. [Read more 🡒]