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By Matt Rochinski
Hornets Head Coach James Borrego has said multiple times in the last week that the Hornets are going to win with defense.
On Saturday at Spectrum Center, Charlotte took another step in establishing that defensive identity, holding the Detroit Pistons to a season low in scoring on their way to a 98-86 victory. The Hornets finished their season-long homestand at 3-2 and moved to 16-15 overall with the win to remain atop the Southeast Division standings.
This also marked the second-straight opponent Charlotte held under the century mark after only doing so three times in their first 29 games. The Hornets also grabbed their first win of the season in which they did not hit 100+ points.
“I think everyone that stepped on the court tonight competed. I think we found a group of men that’s committed to the defensive end these last two games,” said Borrego. “Tonight was probably our best defensive game of the season. Four fast-break points for them, 46 points in the paint, I think that was our low for the season for opponent points at 86. 21-point quarter, 19-point quarter, 25-point quarter, 21 in the fourth, I think we made a lot strides defensively these last few days and that’s what’s got to sustain us, competing on both ends of the floor.”
Marvin Williams led the way for the Hornets with a season-high 24 points on a career-high seven three-pointers on 11 attempts (63.6 percent) to go with three free throws. Williams also filled the stat sheet defensively, grabbing six rebounds, swiping two steals and blocking one shot.
“You know Marvin is a pro. He’s stayed with it, he’s at the core of who we are,” said Borrego. “I’m really proud of him, he shot the ball well and his teammates were looking for him. He was locked and loaded tonight.”
Kemba Walker followed Williams with 22 points, including 4-of-9 shooting (44.4 percent) from long range, capped by a crucial trey that gave Charlotte a 90-78 with 2:39 remaining. While that shot was big, it was two plays Walker made on the defensive end prior to the shot that sealed this one for the Hornets.
After holding a 15-point lead earlier in the contest, Charlotte saw the Pistons battle back to trim the deficit to 83-78 with 4:44 remaining. When Cody Zeller fouled out 27 seconds later, it appeared as if Detroit might have momentum on its side, but Walker had other ideas. On the Pistons first possession with Zeller sidelined, Walker drew an offensive charge on All-Star forward Blake Griffin (team-high 23 points), leading to a clutch Jeremy Lamb three on the other end to give the Hornets a 86-78 cushion. Following one of two free throws from Lamb to make it 87-78, Walker was there again on the defensive end, stealing the ball away from Andre Drummond in the paint before heading back down to hit the three to ice the W.
“I think we are doing this more often than not, we hit a point in the fourth quarter where it’s a one-point game a three-point game and our group stays resilient,” said Borrego. “We keep finding good shots, we had good shots, and Jeremy Lamb hit a couple big buckets there. He didn’t have a great game overall, especially the way he’s been playing, but he came up with some big buckets down the stretch to gain separation for us. But our defense got this thing done today.”
The Hornets now head out on the road for a 6 p.m. tip on Sunday in Boston before returning home for the holiday.
“It was huge,” Williams said of the win before the team takes on the Celtics. “Detroit is a really, really good team. Obviously this is a big game for both of us because it gives us the tie breaker over those guys. I know come March and April they’re going to be one of those teams right there fighting for a spot, so it’s always good to have a tie breaker, so it was a huge win for us.”