By Matt Rochinski, hornets.com
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Result
Kemba Walker scored a game-high 26 points and Dwight Howard added 16 more and grabbed a game-high 16 rebounds to record his eighth double-double of the season as the Hornets snapped a six-game skid with a 102-87 victory over the Clippers on Nov. 18 at Spectrum Center. The win pushed Charlotte to 5-2 on its home court this season.
Turning Point
Since the Hornets hit the road on Nov. 2, they have struggled with closing out games in their six-game slide. That was not the case against the Clippers as the Hornets came up huge in closing time. After giving up the lead briefly early in the fourth quarter, Charlotte bounced back and held an 84-83 lead with just over five minutes remaining. But this wasn’t just about holding the lead, it was about putting the game away and the Hornets came through, closing the game on an 18-4 run. Charlotte buckled down defensively with the game on the line, holding the Clippers to 1-of-9 shooting (11.1 percent) from the field, including 0-of-3 from long range. Meanwhile, the Hornets connected on 3-of-7 three-pointers (42.9 percent) and were a perfect 9-of-9 from the charity stripe. Charlotte also forced three turnovers leading to six points while not turning the ball over once. It was the perfect formula to close out a game and get the Hornets back into the win column.
Hornets Player of the Game (Pick up your Kemba Walker gear here)
Kemba Walker finished with a game-high 26 points on 8-of-17 shooting (47.1 percent) from the field, including 6-of-9 from long range and 4-of-4 from the free-throw line. It marked Walker’s fifth-straight 20+ point performance and 11th such game all season. He has now hit five-or-more three-pointers in back-to-back games (five at Chicago on 11/17) for the fifth time in his career. Walker has made 11-of-18 treys in the last two games for a 61.1 percent clip. He also added six assists and two rebounds and did not turn the ball over once. Walker has had just two turnovers in his last three games.
Clippers Player of the Game
Lou Williams came off the bench to lead Los Angles with 25 points on 10-of-17 shooting (58.8 percent) shooting from the field. He added a team-high four assists and grabbed two rebounds in the losing effort.
Game Notes
Dwight Howard scored 16 points and added 16 rebounds for his eighth double-double in 15 games and sixth game with 15+ points and 15+ rebounds. His four offensive rebounds moved him past Otis Thorpe into 14th place on the NBA’s offensive rebound all-time leaderboard (Howard: 3,449; Thorpe: 3,446)… In Nic Batum’s third game of the season, he finished with 12 points, four rebounds and a season-high seven assists… Jeremy Lamb tallied 17 points, giving him his 14th game in double-digit scoring this season and his 10th game with 15+ points. He left the game in the fourth quarter with a right hamstring strain and did not return… The Hornets had one turnover in the first half - their lowest in a half this season. They finished the contest with eight turnovers - their lowest overall this season (previous: nine vs. Houston 10/27).
Quote of the Night
“We stayed with the game. When they made their run we didn’t panic, we didn’t put our heads down. We stayed together, we made plays that we were able to finish the game on. That was a big win for us. We really needed that win and hopefully we can keep pushing forward.” - Kemba Walker
Next Up
The Hornets three-game homestand continues with a 7 p.m. tip on Monday at Spectrum Center. The game can be seen on FOX Sports Southeast or heard on WFNZ or on the official Charlotte Hornets mobile app.