Charlotte Falls to Indiana Pacers in Summer League Opener

Team struggles with turnovers and poor shooting from deep as Hornets fall to 0-1 in the 2022 NBA Summer League.

Author:
Jon Yeager
Jul 8, 2022 8:46 PM EDT

Las Vegas, NV- The Charlotte Hornets tipped off their Summer League schedule Friday evening against the Indiana Pacers with a loss by a score of 96-84. After the unfortunate news of second-year guard Scottie Lewis' injury, Charlotte was unable to bounce back and start the summer off with the win. The team extended their Summer League losing streak, as they went winless last year.

The Hornets opened up the first possession of the 1st quarter with a beautiful pass from 2022 second-round pick Bryce McGowens to Nick Richards for the slam on a short roll. Richards found himself getting to the foul line early and often as one of the few bright spots in the opening quarter. Much of the frame was a bit sloppy for Charlotte as Kai Jones and Jalen Crutcher each missed a barrage of threes. At the 4:33 mark, Jones found himself switched out on the perimeter against Chris Duarte, biting on a quick pump-fake and sending Duarte to the line for three free throws. Kai made up for his foul on the three-point attempt later with an excellent defensive possession switched out on Washington Jr., blocking his shot out of bounds.

Sloppy ball-handling and passing was a theme as evidenced by a possession where McGowens got caught in the air on a baseline drive forcing an ugly turnover leading straight to a Duane Washington Jr. three. The Pacers played a much sharper quarter with seven team assists leading 28-19 at the end of one.

After a turnover on the opening possession of the second frame, the Hornets started to settle in a bit especially defensively. Richards continued to make his presence felt with tremendous hustle and timing to contest shots at the rim to keep the Hornets in the game. Mark Williams struggled to finish around the rim as Charlotte tried to feed him the ball in the post, but he did show his potential shooting stroke as he drilled two-point jump shot in the quarter and rebounded the ball well. After going 0/4 from three in the 1st, Kai Jones finished the half 0/5 from three. However, he did flash an ability to get to the rim off the bounce as he drove and finished up and over his defender with about 25 seconds left in the half. Charlotte won the quarter by four, but still headed into the break trailing 42-37. Defense was certainly keeping them in the game at this point, as they forced Indiana to go 6/27 from the floor in the second quarter.

McGowens flashed an impressive ability to get to the rim early in the 3rd quarter with a hard drive ending in a tough floater in the lane plus a foul. However that is just about the only thing that went right for Charlotte in the 3rd as Bennedict Mathurin continued his impressive debut in an Indiana uniform by competing defensively and knocking down shots. Charlotte repeatedly turned the ball over, leading to easy buckets in transition and allowing the lead to balloon as high to 26 points for the Pacers at the 1:17 mark. Indiana continued to get to the rim at will with little resistance from the Hornets defense in the third quarter. The team shot 36% from the field in the quarter and was outscored by 19 points.

Kai Jones had the play of the game for the Hornets early in the 4th as he got the ball on the block, turning to face his defender. A quick jab step allowed him to get by his initial defender and he used his athleticism to dunk over the help defender. Certainly something positive to take away as many fans have been anticipating the chance to watch his development over the summer. However, the shot is still a work-in-progress as he finished 0-10 from beyond the arc. Charlotte as a team shot just 7/31 from three-point range.

The Hornets made the final score a bit more respectable in the 4th, falling 96-84. Bennedict Mathurin, 6th overall pick in the 2022 draft by the Pacers, led the game with an impressive 23 points, followed by Bryce McGowens of the Hornets with 17 points. The story of this game could be told by the difference in three-point shooting and turnovers.

The Hornets will be back in action on Sunday looking to snap their losing streak in Las Vegas as they take on the Los Angeles Lakers in game two of their Summer League slate. The Pacers will look ahead towards the Sacramento Kings on Sunday afternoon.

Team Stats by Quarter

1Q:

CHA: 5/19 FG | 1/8 3FG | 13 REB | 1 AST | 1 TOs

IND: 8/21 FG | 5/10 3FG | 14 REB | 7 AST | 2 TOs

2Q:

CHA: 8/21 FG | 1/7 3FG | 18 REB | 5 AST | 6 TOs

IND: 6/27 FG | 2/8 3FG | 14 REB | 3 AST | 3 TOs

3Q:

CHA: 5/14 FG | 3/10 3FG | 7 REB | 3 AST | 8 TOs

IND: 12/21 FG | 3/6 3FG | 12 REB | 6 AST | 1 TOs

4Q:

CHA: 12/20 FG | 2/6 3FG | 13 REB | 7 AST | 3 TOs