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Hornets fall to Grizzlies in Home finale, 124-100

Charlotte ends its home schedule with another loss.
Ashley Stroehlein|
Apr 8, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (12) looks to pass as he is defended by Charlotte Hornets forward Moussa Diabate (14) during the second half at the Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-Imagn Images
Apr 8, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (12) looks to pass as he is defended by Charlotte Hornets forward Moussa Diabate (14) during the second half at the Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-Imagn Images | Sam Sharpe-Imagn Images

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Charlotte HornetsMemphis Grizzlies

The Charlotte Hornets came up short against the Memphis Grizzlies in their home finale, falling 124-100, moving the Hornets to 19-60 on the season.

Ja Morant powered Memphis to a win over Charlotte with 28 points, eight assists, and five rebounds in 27 minutes of play.

Hornets forward Miles Bridges led the way for Charlotte with 14 points and six rebounds. With those stats, Bridges continued to etch his name into the organization's history books, this time by moving up to 5th on the all-time rebounds list with 2,626 career rebounds, passing Bismack Biyombo.

Taj Gibson also inched closer to a milestone of his own. Gibson checked into the game on Tuesday night, marking career game number 999, putting him just one game away from reaching a career milestone of 1,000 career games played. Gibson finished the night with six points and three rebounds in 14 minutes played.

A scary moment occurred when Grizzlies guard Jaylen Wells had to be taken off the court on a stretcher and transported to a local hospital following contact with Hornets rookie KJ Simpson as Wells was attempting a fast-break dunk. Simpson was assessed a flagrant 2 and automatically ejected from the game.

“Oh, that’s tough, man. Like I said, I saw the end of it obviously, because I threw the
pass. I turned around and was doing the ‘touchdown’ [celebration] because that’s what I
tell him—when he hears me say ‘touchdown,’ he just takes off running," Gizzlies point guard Ja Morant said on his perspective of the incident. "I saw the fall at the end . . . it’s tough, especially for somebody who plays a lot of minutes for us being really productive on the court. We’ve just got to say with him, keep praying for him, let him know that God’s got him.”

“Pretty emotional. Hard to witness something like that. In the heat of the game, just
really trying to tell the guys obviously, ‘Let’s keep him in our thoughts and our prayers.’ I
think a lot of guys walked over and either patted him on the back or went over to the
coach and said something to the coach about how they apologize," Hornets head coach Charles Lee explained. "I did the same thing because we don’t play dirty. I think it just happened in the heat of the moment in competition. We’re going to continue to think about him, pray for him and hope
everything ends up going as well as possible. Credit to both teams for finding a way,
kind of just rally and refocus and get back out there and play.”

On KJ Simpson's emotions following the incident Lee says Simpson feels terrible. "He feels bad about what happened, but credit to the team for just continuing to pick him up in that moment and just give him the support that he needs in that moment because he definitely felt bad about it."

Following the game Wells took to his instagram to share he was recovering in the hospital with a selfie and the caption "Go Grizz". Wells sustained a right broken wrist, per reports.

Hornets head coach Charles Lee thanked Buzz City for their support throughout the season following the team's final home game of the year. "Their unwavering support has been greatly appreciated. I know from myself and everyone in the organization we really look forward to having a great off season and coming back and playing in Spectrum again next year and hopefully giving them something that they can continue to be proud of," Lee said.

The Hornets will finish their season with a 3 game road trip starting in Toronto on Wednesday and concluding with back-to-back matches against the Boston Celtics.

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Ashley Stroehlein
ASHLEY STROEHLEIN

Ashley Stroehlein is a sports reporter who is based in Charlotte, NC, and has covered multiple professional and collegiate sports ranging from the NBA, NFL, MLS, ACC, SEC and more. Stroehlein currently contributes to Charlotte Hornets On SI, ESPN’s coverage of college football as a sideline reporter, serves as a freelance host on SiriusXM’s NBA and NASCAR Radio channels and as a fill-in host and sideline reporter for FanDuel Sports Network’s coverage of the Charlotte Hornets. Ashley graduated with honors from Radford University, majoring in mathematics. She moved to North Carolina to teach secondary math and coach basketball and track. However, her passion for sports led her to decide to return to school to study broadcasting. Ashley’s work as an anchor and storyteller has earned her many industry honors. Most notably, she is a three-time recipient of the prestigious Gracie Award, which recognizes exemplary programming created by, for and about women in all facets of media and entertainment.

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