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Charlotte Sends Martin Off On Winning Note in Indiana

By Matt Rochinski, hornets.com

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Result
The Hornets closed the 2017-18 season on a winning note on Tuesday in Indiana with a 119-93 win over the Pacers, sending legendary broadcaster Steve Martin into retirement on a winning note after 30 years calling Charlotte basketball. Frank Kaminsky led a total team effort with 24 points, as six different Hornets finished with 14+ points.

Turning Point
The Hornets wanted to get off to a hot start on the road to come away with a victory in their final regular season and got just that. Despite trailing 13-10 to start the contest, Charlotte quickly regrouped on the back of a 21-4 run to take a 31-17 lead and finished the first quarter on a Frank Kaminsky half-court three-pointer that gave the Hornets a 37-25 lead. Marvin Williams sparked the Hornets big first quarter with 12 points on four three-pointers while Dwight Howard followed with seven points and six rebounds in the frame.

Hornets Player of the Game
We gave radio broadcaster Steve Martin our Player of the Game recognition in his last home game on Sunday and feel it is only right to send Martin out with back-to-back POG nods. Martin has broadcasted for 30 years with the Charlotte franchise and ends a career spanning 50 years total as both a television and radio broadcaster. In his career, Martin has travelled 1,342,316 miles covering basketball, called 2,404 regular season games and 76 playoff games, called the names of 259 Hornets/Bobcats players (including two years in New Orleans) and 12 coaches during games, called games on 107 radio stations and 43 television stations, seen five franchises added to the NBA (25 in 1988 and 30 now in 2018) and called games in four countries and 36 states/provinces. Credit FOX Sports Southeast as well for simulcasting Martin on both radio and the television broadcast for the game’s final moments so we all could listen to Steve one last time.

Pacers Player of the Game
Lance Stephenson continues to fill the stat sheet for the Pacers. Two days after nearly recording a triple-double (10 rebounds, 10 assists, eight points) against the Hornets in Charlotte, Stephenson scored nine points, grabbed a team-high 13 rebounds, handed out four assists, swiped two steals and blocked a shot in 33 minutes.

Game Notes
Dwight Howard recorded his franchise-best 53rd double-double of the season, finishing with 14 points and a game-high 17 rebounds. He has now passed Shaquille O’Neal for 14th place on the NBA’s all-time rebounding leaderboard. Howard also blocked one shot… Marvin Williams scored 15 points, grabbed four rebounds, dished out three dimes and blocked two shots, tying him with Al Jefferson for 10th place on the franchise’s all-time blocks leaderboard with 204. Williams also tied a career high with five three-pointers… Kemba Walker scored 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting, including 3-of-6 from long range. He now has 9,907 career points heading into 2018-19… Malik Monk scored 17 points off the bench and drained three treys. Monk finishes the season having hit 3+ three-pointers in six-straight contests.

Quote of the Night
“This is my final broadcast of my career that spans a 30-year run in this great league. Here in Charlotte we’ve seen the city go through expansion twice and make it nicely both times, so it seem to be the right time for me to step into retirement and move off into the sunset. I’ve enjoyed immensely every minute of it.” – Steve Martin’s final broadcast call

Next Up<br
This concludes the 2017-18 season for Charlotte. The Hornets finished with a 36-46 overall record. We’ll see you all in 2018-19 for the 30th Anniversary Season. Bee Here!