PJ Washington has a strong game in his return as Charlotte Hornets halt losing streak
Terry Rozier let his head coach know where his mind was at early.
"I told coach we got to get this one," Rozier said. "I’m ready no matter how long he needs me for."
Turned out the answer was 39 minutes.
Rozier finished just shy of a triple-double, tossing in 34 points and adding 10 assists and eight rebounds to power the Charlotte Hornets to a 109-101 victory over Portland on Sunday night, thwarting a mini explosion by Carmelo Anthony in the fourth quarter.
But while Rozier was the headliner, pumping in 17 points in the first quarter to get them going, the return of PJ Washington also provided the necessary boost required to halt the Hornets' four-game losing streak.
Playing for the first time in a week after missing three games with a sprained right ankle, Washington was a force off the bench. He had a solid all-around effort. He made shots from the perimeter, did his thing on the boards and swatted four shots -- a couple in emphatic style, too.
Washington pumped in 23 points to go with eight rebounds, making 5 of 11 attempts from 3-point range. He was thrust into duty quickly in the first quarter once Vernon Carey Jr., who was making his second straight start at center, picked up two quick fouls and didn't take long to find his rhythm.
“Well, I thought PJ was great tonight," coach James Borrego said. "I thought it was great coaching bringing him in after 20 seconds into the game. It was just great coaching there. I thought he was fantastic off the bench. He felt like a starter to me the way he came out. I think it was his energy, his defense, his ability to protect the rim, rebound the ball. Obviously, he made shots tonight. I thought he had one of his finer performances of the season, just his overall effort on both ends of the floor. We’re going to need that."
With Miles Bridges (19 points) playing so well as a starter and since it's a necessity to balance the scoring off the bench, could Washington be used as a reserve for the foreseeable future? Borrego said it was too early to tell.
"What we do from here as far as the lineup, I’ll figure it out and we’ll look at that for Tuesday night," he said. "But whether he comes off the bench or he starts, he’s got to play that way and impact the game that way. And I thought he was huge for us tonight."
Washington was just happy to be back in the mix again. Sitting out for six days allowed him to get an unscheduled, brief mental respite.
“I think it was good for me to get a good break from the game a little bit," Washington said. "Obviously, I didn’t want to get injured. But it happens. It’s basketball. I tried to get settled down, and get more focused on my craft, and come back out and be a little more aggressive tonight. Some of my shots fell, I was aggressive on defense and the team played well. That’s all I can ask for."
Seeing him in that kind of form is just what the Hornets needed.
“Huge presence down there," Rozier said. "Blocking shots, rebounding, stretching the floor out on offense bringing the bigs out and stuff like that. We are just glad to have him back, he’s a huge piece of this team. Whenever he’s playing well like that, the sky is the limit for us.”
Quotable: “I’d put him in that category. Obviously, I’m not a voter, it’s not up to me. I have not studied it. There’s a lot of players throughout the league that have shown great improvement from this year to last year. He’s had significant growth. We still got a lot of basketball to play, so let’s see how he continues. If he continues at this pace, absolutely he should be in consideration. He’s done a great job. He’s really worked his tail off and there’s a major care factor. Miles really cares about playing every game. He cares about competing. He cares about winning and really proud of his growth.” -- James Borrego on whether Miles Bridges should get consideration for the league's most improved player award
Noteworthy: By posting his second consecutive double-double with those 34 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds, Terry Rozier became the first player in franchise history with successive games totaling at least 25 points and 10 assists. Rozier had 27 points and 10 assists against Brooklyn on Friday.
Up next: at New York, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday
