The Charlotte Hornets caught fire from beyond the arc in the second half, helping them take down the Memphis Grizzlies 123-99 at FedExForum on Friday evening.
The Grizzlies fell to 13-11 with the loss, with all but one of the losses coming by 10 or more points. The Hornets improved to 14-8, winning their fourth game in a row.
Charlotte hit 14 of its 22 three-point attempts (63.6 percent) in the third and fourth quarters, while holding Memphis to 5-of-14 (35.7 percent) to turn a five-point halftime lead into a 24-point win. The Hornets set a season-high with 18 three pointers overall on 37 shots (48.6 percent). It was also the most three pointers a Grizzlies opponent has hit this season.
Kemba Walker paced all scorers with 33 on 12-of-19 shooting (63.2 percent), including hitting at a 5-of-8 clip (62.5 percent) from three-point range. Walker added five rebounds and six assists. He was joined in double figures by Nicolas Batum with 20 points, Jeremy Lin, Frank Kaminsky and Jeremy Lamb with 16, 15 and 10 points, respectively.
Six Grizzlies scored in double figures, led by Marc Gasol who registered 17 points and also led the team in rebounds and assists with nine and five. Point guard Mike Conley followed behind him with a 16-point outing. Zach Randolph (13 points), Courtney Lee (12 points), Matt Barnes (11 points) and Tony Allen (10 points) were the other Grizz players to hit double figures.
Memphis started the game hot, shooting a season-high 76.9 percent (10-of-13 points) and getting to the line to hit 14-of-17 (82.4 percent) from the charity stripe in the first quarter, while allowing Charlotte to only make five trips to the line. At the end of the opening 12 minutes, Memphis held a six-point lead, 35-29. However, New Orleans would win the subsequent quarters.
The roles reversed in the second quarter, with Charlotte making 14 free throws in 15 trips (93.3 percent), while Memphis only took four, hitting half of them. At the break, Memphis was behind 59-54.
The third quarter was when the game began to swing in the visitors favor. Charlotte was 12-of-22 (54.5 percent) from the field, including seven three pointers, while Memphis struggled both from the field, 6-of-18 (33.3 percent) and 1-of-6 from long range (16.7 percent).
The Hornets got going almost immediately in the third frame with a Batum three-pointer sandwiched between two Gasol hook shots. They’d follow up with two more three-pointers on the next couple of possessions, and after a Cody Zeller layup capped off a 15-6 run, the Grizzlies found themselves down 16, 74-58 with 7:39 to play in the third.
Memphis was unable to get the lead below 14 from there, with Charlotte eventually stretching its lead to a game-high 31 near the end of the game.
Memphis hits the road for a Sunday evening matchup against the Miami Heat before returning home to play Washington on the second night of the back-to-back. Tip-off for Sunday’s game is set for 5 p.m. ET and fans can listen in on 92.9 FM ESPN, or catch the action on FOX Sports Southeast.
The Grizzlies will host the Hornets on Friday night at FedExForum. It's Star Wars Night. The first 3,000 fans will receive a Tony Allen Jedi robe.
Key Stat of the Night
- The Grizzlies opened tonight’s game with a 12-0 run against the Hornets… Memphis scored 35 points (10-13 FG, 1-1 3P, 14-17 FT) in the first quarter, but scored 38 points (14-43 FG, 2-11 3P, 8-12 FT) in the second and third periods combined… Charlotte scored 29 points in the first and 64 over the next two frames.
Key Run of the Night
- With 10:58 remaining in the third frame and leading 62-58, the Hornets went on a 12-0 run to push the lead to 74-58… Charlotte went on to take the lead by 23 points (92-68) with 1:30 left in the frame, which was the largest lead of the third quarter.
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Player Notes
- Marc Gasol scored a team-high 17 points and pulled down nine rebounds on the night.
- Mike Conley tallied 16 points and handed out four assists with three rebounds.
- From the bench, Courtney Lee contributed 12 points while Matt Barnes added 11 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
- Hornets guard Kemba Walker finished the game with game-high 33 points, six assists and five rebounds.
- Hornets guard Jeremy Lin notched 16 points, four rebounds and two assists… Lin has logged five 15-or-more points performances in his first year with Charlotte… Hornets guard Jeremy Lamb tallied 10 points and four rebounds marking his 17th game with 10-or more points this season… Lamb and Lin rank first in combined bench points in the Eastern Conference.
Next Game
Grizzlies at Heat
Catch the Grizzlies Live! pregame shows on FOX SportSoutheast at 4:30pm followed by 5pm tipoff as the Grizzlies head South to Miami to take on the Heat on Sunday.