Hornets fall to the Pistons despite incredible effort

The Charlotte Hornets suffered their 37th loss of the season earlier today, although a win in Detroit would've been nothing short of a miracle considering the circumstances. Nine rotational players weren't available for the contest, with LaMelo Ball and trade returnee Mark Williams amongst them.

Detroit took care of business early, as Tobias Harris (12 points in the first quarter) and Malik Beasley (11 points in the first quarter) blasted the Hornets' defense on their way to a 39-15 lead. The hosts entered the game ranked second in the league in fast break points and pushed the pace after every Hornets miss, which there were a lot of.

To make matters worse for the purple and teal, Moussa Diabate went down early in the second quarter after suffering an eye injury and didn't return to the game. On a more positive note, Elfrid Payton made his first appearance as a Hornet and was part of a little comeback by the bench before halftime that cut the lead to 46-66.

Despite a full comeback being improbable if not impossible, especially with the rotation now being reduced to eight players in Diabate's absence, Charles Lee's guys didn't let up and managed to win their second consecutive quarter, narrowing the deficit to 73-90 at the end of the third quarter.

And the push didn't stop there. To start the fourth, Charlotte went on a 17-2 run behind nine points from Seth Curry and some good play from 39-year-old Taj Gibson who battled below the boards with 21-year-old Jalen Duren. It wasn't enough to snag the win in the end, but it did cement the kind of culture Charles Lee is trying to establish in the long term.

Best of the Night: Seth Curry turns back the clock and scores 26 points

Seth Curry is still good for a few threes per night. But as someone who's not usually asked to produce much as a 34-year-old, these kinds of outbursts have become a rarity. The last time Curry scored 26 or more points was on January 25th in 2023 when he was still in a Brooklyn Nets uniform. This game could have turned really ugly early and it was in large parts due to Seth's contributions that it didn't.

Worst of the Night: More injury woes as Suns trade causes concern

In addition to the aforementioned Injury to Moussa Diabate's eye, Isaiah Wong also headed to the locker room late in the first quarter but managed to return with a brace on his left ankle. With the injuries once again mounting up, it would be a great relief to have Jusuf Nurkic available, but the trade that originally sent him to Charlotte still hasn't gone through.

Stat of the Night: Career night for Isaiah Wong

After his injury scare and return to the court, Wong luckily didn't seem too bothered. The former Indiana Pacer put up a career-high 17 points on six of nine-shooting in a career-high 24 minutes. He's not someone who will get regular minutes so it's great to see him step up when asked to.

Highlight of the night: Moussa Diabate finishes the alley-oop

.@MilesBridges ⏩️ @MoussaDiabate_ @drpepper | 📹 @FDSN_Hornets pic.twitter.com/0T6pHoIE1n
— Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) February 9, 2025

Next up:

The Hornets are facing the second night of a back-to-back tomorrow in the Big Apple. They'll face the Brooklyn Nets starting 7.30pm EST, hopefully with at least a couple of guys less on the injury report.

Hornets fall to the Pistons despite incredible effort

Best of the Night: Seth Curry turns back the clock and scores 26 points

Worst of the Night: More injury woes as Suns trade causes concern

Stat of the Night: Career night for Isaiah Wong

Highlight of the night: Moussa Diabate finishes the alley-oop

Next up:

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