Charles Lee Describes What Led to the Hornets' Come-From-Behind Win in Portland

The Charlotte Hornets gutted one out last night in Portland, erasing a 19-point deficit to get back in the win column and climb back up to .500.

Following the game, Hornets head coach Charles Lee met with sideline reporter Shannon Spake to break down the win. Here is everything he had to say.

Best way to describe this win

“I think that was a character win right there. From all the habits we have been building from the offseason to the last couple of months and weeks, and games, and the guys stuck with it. We’ve had to win a lot of different ways with a lot of different people on the court. I thought a ton of our guys responded well after not maybe having a great first half of being in foul trouble. We got really good minutes from our bench. The competitive spirit was there. The togetherness to continue to execute as Portland came out and played well in that first half, and even shot it well. Just proud of the group for sticking with it, but that’s the character we’ve been building.”

What was the turning point in the game?

“I thought that the third quarter, the energy that we played with. I thought some of Moussa’s offensive rebounds gave us a little bit more life and spirit, Brandon (Miller) coming up with some big plays, and then I think defensively we really locked in and keyed into their sets and to their tendencies. (Deni) Avdija couldn’t really find a rhythm. To hold him to five free throws is really impressive, too. And then when it really mattered most, we held them to 19 points in the fourth quarter. I think some of that offensive energy kind of came back to life, and we were able to battle through some of their pressure, and defensively we tightened the screws.”

Thoughts on Ryan Kalkbrenner and Sion James

“It’s really cool to see them continue to grow in these moments. I think Ryan has put together a string of really nice games right now where he’s coming in and you’re feeling his impact physically. Also, just in the paint, dominating things on both ends of the floor, no matter what it says in the box score. And Sion, the same thing. We’re putting him in a ton of situations where he’s got to initiate offense, he’s got to play off-ball, he’s got to guard the best player, and they handle it so well. They just keep getting better, and they embrace whatever their role is asked of that night.”

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