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By Matt Rochinski
If you asked any Hornets fan heading into Wednesday’s game against the Indiana Pacers what they were most thankful for on the court, the answer would be clear cut - Kemba Walker.
On Thanksgiving Eve, Walker was probably more than thankful to get a little extra rest after back-to-back 60- and 43-point games, respectively, watching from the bench in the fourth quarter as Charlotte coasted to a 127-109 victory over Indiana at Spectrum Center. The win moved the Hornets over the .500 mark at 9-8 and wrapped up a there-game homestand that saw Charlotte go 2-1 against three of the Eastern Conference’s best - Philadelphia, Boston and Indiana - with the only loss coming to Philadelphia in overtime.
“It shows what kind of fight we have,” said Walker. “We know that Philly game – it was a tough one for us. It was a tough loss for us. But we bounced back with the game against Boston and tonight. Obviously, they’re short a man – they’re short a super star in Victor Oladipo – we know that. But I’m glad that we came out, we came out and fought. It’s still the NBA at the end of the day, everyone is good in the NBA. We came out and we executed and we had a huge win for us, huge win for us.”
After Walker carried the load offensively for Charlotte the last two contests, everyone who stepped on the court contributed for the Hornets against Indiana. Jeremy Lamb led seven different Hornets scoring in double figures with 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting (53.8 percent), including a career-high five three-pointers in seven attempts. Lamb also added a team-high seven rebounds and handed out four assists. This marked Lamb’s third-straight game of 15+ points.
“I just took what the defense gave me,” said Lamb. “I had a lot of open threes. Kemba [Walker] was penetrating and Cody [Zeller] hit me a couple of times, Frank [Kaminsky] hit me a couple times, so I was able to get some open ones and thankfully I was able to knock them down.”
Dwayne Bacon came off the bench and played arguably his best game as a pro, finishing with a career-high 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting (61.5 percent) and converted in a host of ways, dropping two treys and attacking the rim. Bacon was also active on the glass, grabbing six rebounds and found his teammates with three dimes.
Walker did his part as well, scoring 16 points and dishing out a season-high 11 assists as he recorded his first double-double of the season. Malik Monk (15 points), Cody Zeller (season-high 15), Nic Batum (11) and Frank Kaminsky (11) also reached double-digit scoring. Marvin Williams (nine points) came close to give Charlotte an eighth member of the double-digit club but left the game in the third quarter with a face contusion and bloody nose and did not return.
As a team, the Hornets lit it up offensively outside the arc, connecting on a season-high 18-of-29 shots (62.1 percent) from long range as eight different Charlotte players connected on a three.
The Hornets took control of this one in the third quarter after seeing the Pacers cut Charlotte’s lead to 68-63 on the first possession of the second half. From that point, the Hornets used a balanced attack to outscore Indiana, 37-24, in the rest of the quarter, with no player scoring more than seven points (Zeller), while Walker, Lamb and Miles Bridges added six more apiece.
“Sometimes you’ve got to give the other team credit,” said Pacers Head Coach Nate McMillan. “They did a good job of executing. [Kemba] Walker did a good job of scoring when he had opportunities but setting his teammates up and they were knocking down shots. Just couldn’t get stops tonight. Sometimes that happens.”
Bojan Bogdanovic scored 20 points to lead Indiana, and despite finishing with seven players scoring in double figures, they simply could not keep pace with the Hornets.
Charlotte now gets a day to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday with their families before heading to Oklahoma City where they’ll tip off at 8 p.m. on Friday against the Thunder.