Bobcats-Hornets Preview

By MATT BEARDMORE
Posted Nov 09 2012 12:51PM

After winning an NCAA title last season, Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist became the first teammates from the same school to be taken with the first two picks in the draft.

It turns out their reunion on an NBA court won't have to wait.

Davis will return after missing the last two games, and fellow first-round pick Austin Rivers also will be back in action for the New Orleans Hornets on Friday night with Kidd-Gilchrist and the Charlotte Bobcats in town.

Named the most outstanding player of the Final Four after matching an NCAA title game record with six blocked shots in Kentucky's 67-59 victory over Kansas, Davis knew he was going to New Orleans after the team won the draft lottery.

There was plenty of speculation about who the Bobcats would select after finishing 7-59 last season - with the worst winning percentage (.106) in NBA history - and even Kidd-Gilchrist admitted he was shocked when he became the No. 2 pick.

Kidd-Gilchrist has started every game for the Bobcats (1-2) but has averaged just 8.0 points on 36.0 percent shooting.

Four other Wildcats were chosen after Davis and Kidd-Gilchrist, including Hornets guard Darius Miller in the second round.

Much was expected of Davis, who helped the U.S. team win gold in London, but the 19-year-old big man had been sidelined with a minor concussion after totaling 29 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks in the first two games. It was uncertain if he would be back for this matchup, needing clearance from the league's neurologist, but Hornets coach Monty Williams said early Friday that Davis is ready to return.

Williams also said Rivers, the 10th overall pick, will come back after missing one game due to a sprained left index finger suffered in practice. The former Duke standout's pro career is off to a rough start, going 5 for 25 from the field.

Miller started in place of Rivers on Wednesday and had five points as the Hornets recorded the lowest-scoring game in team history, losing 77-62 to Philadelphia.

"I've told our guys since we've been here that there's one way that we play, and there's one way that we're going to be successful, especially when we have guys out," said Williams, whose team had 24 turnovers and 23 field goals. "We have to play with more force. I didn't see that tonight."

Williams also needs to see better shooting, as the Hornets (2-2) are hitting 41.6 percent from the field and scoring a Western Conference-low 83.5 points per game.

Point guard Greivis Vasquez is handing out 9.0 assists per game, but he's shooting 34.6 percent while leading the team with 52 field-goal attempts.

New Orleans' offense could get in gear against the Bobcats. Charlotte is yielding a league-worst 110.7 points per game following Wednesday's 117-110 home loss to Phoenix.

The Bobcats, though, pulled even in the fourth quarter after trailing by 16 in the third.

"We have a good push back in us and that's tagged to good character," first-year coach Mike Dunlap said. "So the signs are there that that is going to be a positive - that we don't let go of the game. We extended a lot of effort."

The Bobcats could use a better first-quarter effort, as they're averaging 19.3 points in that period while allowing 27.3.

"We just have to continue to move the ball early in the first half and not dig ourselves in deep holes like that," said Kemba Walker, the team leader with 19.0 points per game.

Gerald Henderson, the team's leading scorer last season, remains out with a sprained left foot, but Walker, Ramon Sessions and Byron Mullens could help carry the team until his return in 2-4 weeks.

Sessions is among the NBA leaders in bench scoring with 16.7 points per game, while Mullens has 40 points and eight 3-pointers over the last two contests.

These teams split two games last season, each winning as the visitor.

Davis leads Hornets past Bobcats, 107-99

By BRETT MARTEL
Posted Nov 10 2012 12:00AM

NEW ORLEANS (AP) Anthony Davis let a tense shoving match affect his play all right.

The New Orleans rookie, in his first game back from a concussion, showed the poise of a tested veteran after a brief but punch-free feud with Charlotte big man Byron Mullens late in the second quarter. Davis scored 18 of his 23 points after the standoff, and also finished with 11 rebounds and five blocks as the Hornets handed the Charlotte Bobcats their third straight loss, 107-99 on Friday night.

"He plays a lot more aggressive, and with a lot more intensity when he gets angry," said fellow Hornets rookie Darius Miller, Davis' former teammate at Kentucky. "So he got kind of mad, a little heated over the situation, and he pretty much dominated the game from then on out. So I've seen him do it before at Kentucky - many times."

Ryan Anderson hit five 3-pointers and finished with 25 points for New Orleans, which has won three of its first five games despite being without injured star guard Eric Gordon. Reserve Brian Roberts added 16 points and eight assists and Al-Farouq Aminu scored 14 points.

Ben Gordon scored 34 points to keep Charlotte within single digits most of the way, but the Hornets withstood each Bobcats surge in holding the lead for all of the final three quarters.

"With the players we have we'll be good enough to get some baskets, but it's really on the defensive end where we have to improve," Gordon said. "We have a young team and we'll just continue to work and try to grow in that area."

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Davis' former Kentucky teammate and the second overall draft pick, had 12 points and six rebounds for Charlotte. Ramon Sessions scored 13 and Kemba Walker scored 11.

One game after setting a franchise-low with 62 points in an ugly loss to Philadelphia, the Hornets shot nearly 52 percent (43 for 83) against Charlotte. New Orleans also turned the ball over only nine times after committing 24 turnovers against the Hornets.

"We certainly didn't turn the ball over and that's something we talk about every day, taking care of the ball and making sure we get a good shot up" Hornets coach Monty Williams said. "We beat a tough team. That team plays hard and they're hungry like we are. ... Our guys responded."

The turning point was Davis' altercation with Mullens as the two started up court from under the Hornets' basket. The tussle sent teammates running to separate them and sent official Bill Kennedy somersaulting backward into the front row, where he landed in the lap of Dennis Lauscha, president of the Hornets and NFL's Saints. (Both clubs are owned by Tom Benson, who was sitting next to Lauscha and narrowly avoided Kennedy.)

Davis downplayed the incident afterward.

"We were just playing basketball. It was a tough," Davis said. "This is what we love to do. No beef or nothing."

Whatever the case, Williams loved the way Davis and the rest of his team responded.

"It was good to see our guys rally around each other and then after that keep their poise," Williams said. "That is the thing about Anthony that I saw in the preseason. He's got a bit of an edge about him. He's a nice kid. He's the kind of kid you dream of coaching and yet you are not going to push him around."

Davis then started scoring on an array of driving layups, putbacks and even a smooth baseline jumper from beyond 10 feet.

Davis' best play might have been an off-balance fast-break layup he tossed in off the glass as he was being fouled before crashing to the floor under the basket. He then hit the free throw for a three-point play to give New Orleans a 70-58 lead late in the third quarter.

Soon after, Anderson and rookie Darius Miller hit consecutive 3s to give New Orleans its largest lead at 76-62.

Charlotte managed to trim its deficit to five when Mullens' 3 made it 95-90 with four minutes remaining, but Aminu put back Davis' miss and Roberts added a tough layup to help New Orleans hold on.

"We're on the road and it was a slugfest, a tight game all the way," Charlotte coach Mike Dunlap said. "There are little things that we are finding in these tough defeats. ... you can see little bits and pieces and we're heading in the right direction."

NOTES: Davis' double-double was the first of his young career. He was playing in only his third game after missing two with his concussion. ... The Bobcats' 48.2 percent shooting (40 of 83) was the highest of New Orleans' first five opponents. ... Charlotte was without starting C Brendan Haywood, who has been away from the club for a family matter, and Gerald Henderson, who has a sprained left foot. ... Bobcats C Bismack Biyombo had 13 rebounds. ... Hornets coach Monty Williams said before tip-off it was "unfortunate" the Los Angeles Lakers did not give coach Mike Brown more than five games before firing him earlier Friday. "Dwight (Howard) didn't start practicing until late, Kobe (Bryant) hasn't practiced in a long time and (Steve) Nash is out, and it takes time to put all that stuff together," Williams said. "It's unfortunate because Mike's a really good coach and any time a guy loses a job, whether it be a player or a coach ... you're reminded of how fragile the business is."

Notebook: Hornets 107, Bobcats 99

Bradley Handwerger, For NBA.com
Posted Sat Nov 10, 2012 12:02 AM - Updated Sat Nov 10, 2012 12:04 AM

THE FACTS: New Orleans Hornets forward Anthony Davis didn't miss a beat in his return from a concussion, recording his first career double-double to pace his team to a 107-99 win over the Charlotte Bobcats on Friday night.

Davis, who missed New Orleans' games against Chicago and Philadelphia because of a mild concussion sustained when teammate Austin Rivers accidentally elbowed him a week earlier, scored 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Both were career highs for the rookie.

New Orleans won in spite of allowing Charlotte to shoot 48.2 percent and score 25 second-chance points. Charlotte's Ben Gordon led all scorers with 34 points, but the Bobcats' lack of defense didn't back him up.

The Hornets shot 51.8 percent and scored 46 points in the paint, an area where Charlotte missed Brendan Haywood, who was excused from the game to deal with a family emergency.

Davis, though, was the story.

After a first-half altercation ended in a Flagrant 1 on Charlotte's Byron Mullens and a technical foul on Davis, the rookie got going. He scored six of the next eight points for the Hornets as the first half came to a close. He scored 18 of his 23 points after the scuffle by becoming more aggressive on the floor.

QUOTABLE: "We were out here having fun. This is what we do. This is what we love to do. No beef or nothing."

--The Hornets' Davis when asked about the altercation with Mullens.

THE STAT: Nine. Charlotte came into Friday night's game as one of the best in the league at forcing turnovers but, against the Hornets, the Bobcats couldn't force New Orleans into poor control of the ball. A game after the Hornets recorded 24 turnovers, they had only nine, nearly eight below what Charlotte was forcing going into the game.

TURNING POINT: Charlotte had cut into New Orleans' 10-point halftime lead in the opening four minutes of the third quarter. Then, Davis took over. The rookie went on a 9-0 run by himself during the next 2½ minutes. First, he finished an alley-oop from Greivis Vasquez. He then hit two straight jumpers before hitting a layup and a free throw. The 12-point lead proved enough cushion for New Orleans.

QUOTABLE II: "He plays a lot more aggressive, and with a lot more intensity when he gets angry, or when his emotions take over like that. So he got kind of mad, a little heated over the situation, and he pretty much dominated the game from then on out. ... I've seen him do it before at Kentucky, many times." -- Hornets guard Darius Miller on Davis.

HOT: Charlotte's Gordon gave the Bobcats a chance off the bench thanks to a stellar night shooting. The reserve guard put up a game-high 34 points on 14-for-21 shooting. He added four assists and six rebounds in the loss.

NOT: The Bobcats' Mullens didn't give Charlotte a lot from his starting spot Friday. In 25 minutes, he scored only five points on 2-for-9 shooting and recorded only three rebounds.

NOTABLE: With seven blocked shots against Charlotte, the Hornets now have 35 on the season, tying the franchise record for most through the first five games. ... Charlotte's 48.2 percent shooting is the highest allowed by New Orleans this season. ... The Hornets had 29 assists, a season high. It's also 26.6 percent of their assist total for the year. ... New Orleans now has five days before its next game while Charlotte has the second of a back-to-back against Dallas, which it lost to by 27 points already this season.

UP NEXT: For the Hornets, Wednesday @ Houston, Friday vs. Oklahoma City, Saturday @ Milwaukee. For the Bobcats, Saturday vs. Dallas, Tuesday vs. Washington, Wednesday @ Minnesota.

• Bobcats: Haywood, Henderson
• Hornets: Gordon

• Bobcats: --
• Hornets: Davis

• Lead Changes: 4
• Times Tied: 5

• Arena: New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, LA
• Officials: #55 Bill Kennedy, #16 David Guthrie, #12 Violet Palmer
• Attendance: 12668
• Duration: 2:15