Morning Buzz: Hornets top Pacers for third straight win

The Hornets are 4-3 through the first seven games of the season, proving doubters and many projections wrong.

(Sam Sharpe-USA TODAY Sports)

The Charlotte Hornets continued to prove doubters wrong Tuesday night, beating the Indiana Pacers 122-120 in overtime at the Spectrum Center. Leading the charge for the Hornets was Devonte' Graham, who scored a career-high 35 points in an off-the-bench effort.

Second-round draft pick Cody Martin led the team in rebounding with 11 boards, Bismack Biyombo added 15 points and two blocks off the bench and Terry Rozier poured in 22 points. Miles Bridges scored 18 points and also threw down dunks like this:

The defense wanted no part of this Miles Bridges hammer 😱 pic.twitter.com/uZl4JUmMgh

— Dime (@DimeUPROXX) November 6, 2019

Great team win!!! DEVONTE GRAHAM, BISMACK BIYOMBO, and once again CODY MARTIN!!!!

— Miles Bridges (@MilesBridges) November 6, 2019

Graham sealed the win by sinking a pair of free throws with 1.7 seconds left in overtime, giving the Hornets their third straight win and pushing them above the .500 mark. Graham -- a second-year guard out of Kansas -- also tallied six assists, four rebounds and three steals.

The crowd cheering, “MVP! MVP!” for @Devonte4Graham... he’s got 31 points!

OT @hornets vs. @pacers on @HornetsOnFSSE 👏🏼⭐️💪🏼👌🏼

— Ashley ShahAhmadi (@ashahahmadi) November 6, 2019

The strong play of Graham is a reflection of two things- strong mentors in Kemba Walker/Tony Parker and taking advantage when he was assigned to Greensboro last year. https://t.co/2FX173PGqX

— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) November 6, 2019

Well, if Devonte’ Graham is just going to *be* Kemba Walker, then I’d like to amend my takes on how the Hornets handled Kemba’s free agency

— Dan Devine (@YourManDevine) November 6, 2019

In his return to Charlotte, former Hornets' guard Jeremy Lamb scored 18 points.

Of note: The Hornets attempted 42 free throws in this game while the Pacers attempted just seven, a stat that calls the consistency of the officiating into question. Those free throws played a factor in the Hornets erasing a 19-point deficit to come back and win.

The Hornets' next game is Thursday night when the Celtics and Kemba Walker come to town.

Notes

• Graham joined rare company with his Tuesday night performance. In the past 25 seasons, the only other two players to have at least 35 points, six assists and three steals off the bench are Manu Ginobili and Lou Williams. Could Graham follow them and be on his way to a Sixth Man of the Year award?
• Washington suffered a "lower left leg contusion" in the victory over Indiana and is listed as day-to-day.
• The Greensboro Swarm waived University of Miami product Ja’Quan Newton on Sunday.

I’m like 3 more unexpectedly entertaining wins away from profusely apologizing to the Suns and Hornets fan bases.

— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) November 6, 2019