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Mark Williams' big night was not enough as Hornets collapse in 4th quarter in Phoenix

The Hornets move to 8-28 on the season.
Schuyler Callihan|
Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

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Charlotte Hornets

PHOENIX, AZ - For playing their first game in nearly a week, the Charlotte Hornets showed very little rust. Unfortunately, it wasn't quite enough to leave the desert victorious as they fell to the Phoenix Suns, 120-113.

Best of the Night: Mark Williams

The Hornets' big man was the story of the night, putting up 24 points and 16 rebounds, both setting new season highs. He was a few points off of his career high (27) and didn't get too close to his personal high in rebounds (24), but it was, without a doubt, one of the best performances of his young career. This is a huge positive for a team that has lacked quality play at the center spot. If he continues to play like this, the Hornets will have three young stars to build around.

Worst of the Night: Fourth quarter offense

The Hornets actually looked like the better team for the first 36 minutes of the game, but the offense dried up in the fourth, scoring only 15 points in the frame. Defensively, it was their best quarter of the night, which really puts a damper on the fact that the offense just couldn't knock down a few more shots. This one was right there for the taking and they let it slip through their fingers.

Stat of the Night:

Mark Williams posted 22 points and 13 rebounds in the first half, becoming the 2nd Hornet since at least 1996-97 to meet those thresholds in a half, joining Dwight Howard, according to Hornets PR. He is the 3rd player to do so this season (Nikola Jokic, Victor Wembanyama).

Highlight of the Night:

Next Up:

Charlotte will now head to Salt Lake City to take on the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 9 p.m. EST on FanDuel Sports Network Southeast.

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Schuyler Callihan
SCHUYLER CALLIHAN

Schuyler Callihan is the publisher of West Virginia On SI and has been a trusted source covering the Mountaineers since 2016. He is the host of Between The Eers, The Walk Thru Game Day Show, and In the Gun Podcast. The Wheeling, WV native moved to Charlotte, North Carolina in 2020 to cover the Charlotte Hornets and Carolina Panthers.

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