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By Matt Rochinski
It hasn’t taken the Hornets long to realize just how valuable of an addition Tony Parker will be to Charlotte in 2018-19.
Two games after sparking the Hornets turnaround on Friday against the Bulls en route to a 135-106 victory at Spectrum Center, Parker was back at it at home, finishing with game highs in points (24) and assists (11), giving him his first double-double since March 17, 2016 against Portland as the Hornets evened their record at 4-4 with a 125-113 victory over Miami at Spectrum Center. Charlotte is now 2-1 at home early in the season with three more games on their home court in the next seven days.
For the second-straight home contest, the Charlotte found itself locked in a tight battle with the visitors after one quarter of action - down by two to the Bulls on Friday and up by two against Miami on Tuesday - and looked to Parker as a calming influence to start the second frame. After playing two scoreless minutes in the first, Parker came in and finished with 13 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field and 5-of-6 shooting from the free-throw line while dishing out four assists and turning it over just once in 10 minutes of play. With Parker on the court in the first seven minutes of the second, Charlotte would turn a 33-33 tie into a 49-37 lead it would not relinquish the rest of the way.
“This is a new role for him with a new team and new teammates. I give him a lot of credit. This is not an easy transition. The easy thing would have been to stay in San Antonio and finish it out there (after 17 seasons). He’s embraced a new challenge and a new role,” Head Coach James Borrego said in his weekly Coach’s Show on Tuesday. “He’s been fantastic, and not just for me but for players like Malik Monk, Kemba Walker and even Nic Batum. He’s really impacted their game and given them a confidence. I think that’s something he really embraces to help these young guys get better and grow in their role. It’s a very unselfish approach. But in the game he’s been fantastic. He ignited us in the Chicago game at home and played very well there. He’s pushing this group. He’s not sitting back and trying to figure this out. He wants to win and he wants to win now. We’re making a push here and he’s a major part of this. I’m really proud of his effort and leadership right now.”
But it’s not just during the game that Parker is making the largest impact. During dead balls, Parker can often be seen in the ear of a teammate and at times during timeouts and quarter breaks, you can see Parker running the huddle, organizing and coaching his teammates while the coaches gather on the court.
“I think that’s going to be my biggest role – to bring that discipline that it takes to play for a great team for so long,” Parker said in an interview with hornets.com this offseason. “It takes a lot of dedication. It takes a lot of discipline. You have to be every day, day by day. Some of the young guys, they take it for granted being in the NBA or going out or all that kind of stuff. You just have to find a happy middle. I think that’s my job to make sure that they realize how great an opportunity we have being in this league, playing for a great organization, make sure that we give it back and make sure we win games because winning is more fun than losing. I told the organization from Day 1, ‘Don’t try and mess up my streak now. I’ve had 17 years in the playoffs. I didn’t come here to mess up my streak.’”
After building the double-digit lead, it was evident this was not one the Hornets weren’t about to let slip away in the fourth quarter when the Heat made their run to cut the lead to 102-92 with 6:18 remaining. First Malik Monk found zeller for a cutting layup inside that Zeller converted for a three-point play, followed by a Monk three that extended the lead to 108-92. The Hornets would not see their lead fall below double digits the remainder of the contest on their way to an important Southeast Division victory.
“I’m proud of the team’s effort tonight. This is not a win where we want to sit back and be satisfied with this win. This is about building, getting better, I’m proud of their response,” said Borrego. “This team has been playing very well. We lost three close games by two points. Our offense is in the top 10. We’re a top-14 defense right now. This is a group that wants to win and I think they’re getting better every single day. They’re committed to each other. This is not a game that we’re going to relax on, we have to build on it Thursday night. I think our guys are proud and feel good about the win, they’re not worried about last season and that record was against Miami. They move forward and we want to build on this.”
Nicolas Batum and Monk also hit the 20-point mark for Charlotte, finishing with 20 points apiece, while Kemba Walker (19), Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (14) and Zeller (11) also scored in double figures. Dwyane Wade led six Heat players in double digits with 19 points in 25 minutes off the bench.
The Hornets continue their four-game homestand with a 7 p.m. matchup on Thursday against Oklahoma City at Spectrum Center.
NOTES: Tony Parker (24 points), Nic Batum (20) and Malik Monk (20) all recorded season highs in scoring. Parker’s 24 bring his career points total to 19,009. He is only the seventh international-born player to reach this milestone in NBA History (Dirk Nowitzki, Hakeem Olajuwon, Dominique Wilkins, Tim Duncan, Patrick Ewing, Pau Gasol)… Parker’s double-double marked the first Charlotte points-assist double-double off the bench since Mo Williams (3/27/15 at WAS) and makes him only the fourth player in franchise history to have a 20-point, 10-assist game off the bench… Parker is the first Hornets player to have 8+ assists off the bench in consecutive games since Muggsy Bogues had a streak of five from Nov. 16, 1991 - Jan. 2, 1992… Kemba Walker drew his NBA-leading sixth charge… with two blocks, Marvin Williams brought his career total to 500. He is one of 44 active players with 500-or-more career blocks.