Hornets Remain Winless in Preseason Play
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - It was a promising start to the night but the Charlotte Hornets were unable to come out on top as they fell to the Washington Wizards, 116-107 Monday night.
To describe the first quarter for the Charlotte Hornets as sloppy would be an understatement. They threw the ball around quite a bit in the opening frame with eight turnovers; LaMelo Ball, Terry Rozier, and James Bouknight all had two each. Washington's mojo early on was the three-point ball as they saw the ball go through the bottom of the net on six of their first seven attempts from deep. They would cool off considerably, however, hitting just one more shot from the perimeter in the first half.
The Hornets found themselves in foul trouble in the early going, especially in the frontcourt as Nick Richards picked up his fourth foul at the 7:01 mark of the second quarter. JT Thor picked up his third personal just a few moments later. Despite the foul trouble, the Hornets actually outscored the Wizards in the paint 20-10 in the second quarter and 28-22 in the half. Rookie Mark Williams provided a spark off the bench notching four points and two rebounds in his first minute of action.
The Wizards led at the break, 61-58.
LaMelo Ball (ankle sprain) and Mason Plumlee (foot) we’re added to the growing list of injuries for the Hornets in the second half, neither of which returned to the game. Ball stepped on the foot of Anthony Gill, causing his ankle to roll. He stayed in the game to hit a pair of free throws before heading to the locker room.
Moments prior to Ball's injury, the Hornets took the lead, 67-65 on a three-pointer from JT Thor. They stretched the lead out to eight and nine a handful of times but couldn't get any true separation. Washington climbed back into the game, tying it up at 101-101 with just under five minutes. The Wizards then went on a 15-6 run to close out the game.
The Hornets will wrap up preseason play in Philadelphia on Wednesday night against the 76ers. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. EST.
TEAM STATS (ACCUMULATIVE)
1ST WAS 36-23
WAS: 13/24 FG | 6/12 3FG | 8 REB | 8 AST | 12 PIP | 1 TOs
CHA: 10/19 FG | 3/5 3FG | 11 REB | 3 AST | 8 PIP | 8 TOs
2ND WAS 61-58
WAS: 21/46 FG | 7/17 3FG | 13 REB | 13 AST | 22 PIP | 5 TOs
CHA: 20/43 FG | 3/10 3FG | 25 REB | 6 AST | 28 PIP | 10 TOs
3RD CHA 88-81
WAS: 30/68 FG | 9/25 3FG | 22 REB | 20 AST | 36 PIP | 8 TOs
CHA: 32/67 FG | 4/13 3FG | 39 REB | 10 AST | 46 PIP | 12 TOs
4TH
WAS: 45/93 FG | 12/31 3FG | 36 REB | 29 AST | 60 PIP | 12 TOs
CHA: 39/89 FG | 5/18 3FG | 44 REB | 15 AST | 58 PIP | 18 TOs
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