More Coverage: Game Action Gallery | Head Coach James Borrego Postgame | Gordon Hayward Postgame
The fast, competitive start that the Charlotte Hornets prioritized on Saturday night unfortunately just never came to fruition, setting the stage for an 125-98 road loss to the LA Clippers at STAPLES Center.
Miles Bridges was one of the brighter spots for the visitors, finishing with a season-high 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting (season-best 5-of-9 from three), three rebounds and four assists in 28 minutes off the bench. Bridges has had only one other game in his career with more three-point field goals when he knocked down six long balls against Toronto back on Jan. 8, 2020.
The Clippers hit a handful of tough shots in the first and won the frame, 37-21, after notching a 71% quarterly field-goal percentage (15-of-21). Charlotte eventually righted itself a bit before the break, but LA continued to pour it on and headed into halftime with a 22-point advantage. From that point, the Hornets never threatened the outcome and dropped their 11th consecutive road meeting with the Clippers.
“I thought our guys battled tonight,” said Coach Borrego after the loss. “This season has been a grind. It’s a mental and physical grind. We have a young group that’s played a lot of minutes. They show up every night, keep battling, keep playing and they’re giving me everything they have right now. We just have to stay the course and stay positive. It’s a challenge. We have enough guys in this room to get it done. We just have to stay together and move forward.”
He added, “It’s been a tough road trip. These are three very good teams and we knew that. We’re not going to hang our heads. We’re not going to call it a season. We have a lot of games to play. We’ve put ourselves in a very good position here. We just have to get right and the most important game is on Monday night for us.”
Gordon Hayward bounced back from a rough showing two nights earlier to finish with 17 points, eight rebounds and four assists. LaMelo Ball (13 points and three steals) and Devonte’ Graham (11 points and three assists) also scored in double figures for a Charlotte team playing without starting center Cody Zeller (left shoulder bursitis). Also on the injury front, Terry Rozier (8 points on 2-of-10 shooting) exited the game in the second half with a left hip contusion.
Paul George recorded his fourth double-double of the campaign, putting up 21 points (12 in the first quarter) and a game-high 10 assists for the Clippers. Kawhi Leonard (17 points), Terance Mann (16), Lou Williams (15), Marcus Morris Sr. (13), Nic Batum (11) and Ivica Zubac (10) made it seven total LA players crossing the 10-point plateau.
The Hornets shot just 39% from the field, which included a 15-of-41 clip from behind the arc (37%). LA finished with a 52% shooting percentage, outscored Charlotte by 12 on the fast break (16-4), notched 56 points in the paint (28-of-39) and sank all 23 of its attempts from the charity stripe.
Charlotte will now head to Texas for a pair of contests, the first of which will be against the San Antonio Spurs on Monday, March 22 starting at 8:30 PM EST. Catch the action on Fox Sports Southeast, the Fox Sports GO app and WFNZ 610 AM or 102.5 FM.
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March 21, 2021 at 12:05PM
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Slow Start Strikes Hornets Again in Loss to Clippers - Brooklynnets.com
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