Kelly Oubre Jr. is Flourishing in 6th Man Role with Hornets

It's starting to look like the Hornets had one of the best free agent signings of the offseason.

Kelly Oubre Jr. had himself one hell of a performance on Wednesday night dropping in 32 points on 10/16 shooting including going 9/14 from three-point range in the 140-111 victory over the Detroit Pistons. 

He was actually rather quiet until the fourth quarter where he seemingly couldn't miss. Oubre had the first four baskets in the fourth for the Hornets all of which were from three. He finished with eight, yes EIGHT, fourth quarter made threes which set a franchise record. By doing so, Oubre became just the fifth player in NBA history to hit at least eight threes in a quarter joining Klay Thompson, Kevin Love, Joe Johnson, and Michael Redd.

"When Kelly gets hot, it's tough to stop," Hornets head coach James Borrego said following the win over Detroit. "He got going there and I thought he was fantastic, he made shots. I'm proud of him. Just to see him play with that joy, that spirit, that confidence - obviously a big-time fourth quarter there. I thought we shot it well tonight and Kelly was a major part of that.”

In 39 games this season, Oubre is averaging 16.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 46% from the field and 38% from three. Should he continue at this pace, he could be one of the favorites to win the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year Award. 

"I hope he feels at home here. I hope he feels that we trust and believe in him, number one. Do I believe he's in that sixth man category? I do. I don't have all the numbers and all the candidates but if I had a vote I'd vote for him. There are a number of players out there that are capable of winning this award. There's a lot of talented sixth men out there but Kelly has got to be right there in the mix. He's having a heck of a year and he makes offense so much more dynamic."

The Hornets will return to action inside Spectrum Center on Saturday night as they welcome in Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks.

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