Hornets Shown the Door by the Worst Team in the NBA

Should this game have been this close?

Author:
Philip Trapp
Jan 24, 2024 9:36 PM EST

In this story:

At one point tonight, the Charlotte Hornets and the Detroit Pistons were tied at 100 deep into the fourth quarter. The Pistons seemed to have hit a scoring stalemate, but they had kept the game neck-and-neck throughout. Sure, the Hornets won on Monday in Minneapolis. But a lot has changed since then — namely, Terry Rozier is no longer a Hornet and is now with Miami.

With T-Ro in the rearview, Wednesday's game in Detroit was back and forth throughout, but the Hornets eventually got bested in a 113-106 loss.

Tied at 52 at the half, Detroit went on an 8-0 run near the end. With seconds left, Hornets star LaMelo Ball drove and hit a layup, but got called for a stinging offensive foul. Charlotte center Nick Richards had a career-high game, hitting a double-double with 21 points, 10 rebounds. Miles Bridges had 20 points, Brandon Miller an impressive 23 points.

Midway through the game, Hornets put out word that Miller had hit his fourth-straight 20-point game. And he and the other Charlotte starters certainly did seem to give it all they could tonight. Still, they couldn't pull it out in the end. Detroit's Jalen Duren gave the Pistons a four-point lead with 30 seconds left in the game.

Bojan Bogdanovic was the high scorer for Motor City, racking up a hearty 30 points by the time each team hit the century mark. Alas, Detroit is currently the lowest-ranked team in the NBA — they were 4-39 coming into this game with a win percentage of .093. Should tonight's game have been this close the whole time? To add insult to injury, Detroit is now 2-0 over Charlotte this season. Ouch.

Best of the Night: Brandon Miller

As evidenced above, Miller had a strong showing, the rookie stepping up to fill the gap — if not necessarily to fill the scoring void left by Rozier. But who knows what the future may hold? Miller is the first-year player who, back at draft time, seemingly took a back seat in the minds of many Hornets fans to No. 3 pick Scoot Henderson, now with the Portland Trail Blazers. (Miller was No. 2 overall.) For all the Hornets' troubles now, halfway through the season, it's clear Miller was the right choice for Charlotte.

Injury Update

The Hornets' injury situation cleared up a good bit ahead of the game. Nick Richards and Cody Martin were initially listed as questionable, but both were upgraded to available Wednesday. Gordon Hayward (calf) and Mark Williams (back) remained out.

Up Next: The Hornets head back to Charlotte to face the Houston Rockets on Friday (Jan. 26) at 7 PM EST.