By Matt Rochinski, hornets.com
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The Result
The Hornets rallied from a 19-point deficit behind 21 points from Troy Daniels, 16 from Aaron Harrison and 14 more from Frank Kaminsky and cut the Memphis lead to one with less than two minutes remaining but couldn’t close things out in a 79-75 loss to the Grizzlies on July 5 at the Orlando Pro Summer League.
Turning Points
The Grizzlies used an 18-4 run to close the third quarter and take a 64-47 lead, but instead of folding, a lineup changed from Hornets Summer League Head Coach Patrick Ewing proved to be the key. After Memphis hit the first bucket of the final stanza to give it the largest lead of the game, 66-47, Ewing’s small lineup of Aaron Harrison, Troy Daniels, Kevin Murphy, P.J. Hairston (at the four) and Frank Kaminsky (at the five) caught fire. Behind eight points apiece from Harrison and Hairston in the quarter, Charlotte rattled off a 20-2 run to cut Memphis’ advantage to 68-67. The teams traded a pair of free throws before Tony Crocker’s 3-pointer with 1:13 remaining appeared to put the game out of reach, 73-69, but Hairston countered with a trey of his own on the right baseline to bring the deficit back to one point with 1:00 on the clock. Russ Smith converted on two free throws on the other end before Hairston’s deep three from the top of the arc was off target, extinguishing Charlotte’s chance to grab its first win in Orlando.
Inside the Box Score
Troy Daniels showed off the shooting touch the Hornets were hoping for when they acquired him in a trade with Minnesota last season, scoring a game-high 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting, including a scorching hot 6-of-9 from long distance… Aaron Harrison got his first start of the summer league at the point and took full advantage, finishing with 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting, a game-high eight assists, four rebounds and a steal… Frank Kaminsky (14 points), Kevin Murphy (12) and P.J. Hairston (10) rounded out Charlotte’s double-digit scorers… After being outscored 25-14 in their first game against the Thunder, Charlotte’s reserves struggled again and were outscored by the Grizzlies’ bench by the same 25-14 margin… The Hornets were outscored 22-11 in the third quarter after hitting on just 4-of-13 shots (30.8 percent) but bounced back in the fourth to outscore Memphis 28-15 while connecting on 10-of-17 attempts (58.8 percent)… The Grizzlies held an 18-2 advantage in fastbreak points through three quarters but were outscored 6-0 on the break by the Hornets in the fourth… Charlotte was outscored 38-36 in the paint.
Hornets Player of the Game
Troy Daniels hit his first five 3-point attempts of the game and finished 6-of-9 from long range, leading to a game-high 21 points. Daniels added six rebounds, an assist and a steal in 29 minutes of play.
Grizzlies Player of the Game
Tony Crocker tallied 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting and his 3-pointer with 1:13 remaining ended a 24-4 Hornets run when Charlotte appeared ready to seal the come-from-behind win. Crocker also added two rebounds, two steals and an assist.
Game Notes
Frank Kaminsky nearly recorded his second double-double in as many games, scoring 14 points to go with a team-high eight rebounds. He’s averaging 16.5 points and 10.0 rebounds to start the summer… After going 3-of-11 in the Hornets first summer league game against Oklahoma City, P.J. Hairston started 0-of-8 against the Grizzlies but finished with 10 points on 4-of-14 shooting from the field… This was the first time twins Aaron (Charlotte) and Andrew (Memphis) Harrison had ever played against each other. Aaron got the better of his brother, recording 16 points, eight assists and four rebounds, while Andrew had nine points, two assists and six rebounds.
Up Next
Charlotte will next take on the Brooklyn Nets summer league squad at 3 p.m. on Tuesday in Orlando. Watch the game on NBA TV and follow the live stats on hornets.com or the Hornets official mobile app.