By Shane Skeary, hornets.com
Summer League Central | Gallery: Hornets vs. Kings | Videos: Ewing | Hairston | Vonleh
THE RESULT
The Hornets saw strong efforts by draftees P.J. Hairston (22 points) and Noah Vonleh (10 points, 18 rebounds) but fell short of the Sacramento Kings, 72-65, on July 13 at Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas.
TURNING POINTS
Charlotte was able to keep the game close with improved defense in the first half as they trailed Sacramento by three at the break. The Hornets continued to battle until a Rion Brown three-pointer put them up 42-40 with 3:01 in the third quarter. The Kings would reclaim the lead at the end of the third, and take control in the fourth, stretching their lead to as many as nine. Charlotte would pull within four in the final seconds, but it was too little too late as Sacramento captured the victory.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
The Hornets were unable to shoot the ball with much consistency for the second straight game. Charlotte was a dreadful 28.6 percent from the field, but improved slightly from long range at 30.0 percent, despite taking a high volume of shots from there (30 attempts). Sacramento was slightly more efficient, shooting 35.2 percent from the field and 30.8 percent from three… The Hornets committed 39 fouls in the contest, 14 more than the Kings (25) and had three players with six fouls or more. That gave Sacramento 40 free throw attempts, which they converted 30 (75.0 percent). The Hornets managed to get to the stripe just 26 times and weren’t as efficient as they were against the Warriors, shooting just 61.5 percent… After winning the turnover battle in their first game, Charlotte handed Sacramento 18 turnovers, while only forcing 14… The Hornets were ale to establish dominance on the glass. Behind Noah Vonleh (18) and Josh Davis (16), Charlotte outrebounded Sacramento by a large margin (47-30).
HORNETS PLAYER OF THE GAME
Noah Vonleh bounced back in a big way after he was held scoreless in his first 2014 Samsung NBA Summer League game. He recorded his first double-double of the summer with 10 points and an impressive 18 rebounds.
KINGS PLAYER OF THE GAME
Ra’shad James proved vital for the Kings as he came off the bench and poured in a team-high 12 points for Sacramento in the victory.
GAME NOTES
The Hornets fall to 0-2 in Summer League action and will play a minimum of three more games in Las Vegas… Charlotte draftee P.J. Hairston showed his range in this one with all six of his field goals coming behind the arc (6-of-13). He finished with a game-high 22 points and was key in the Hornets keeping the game close… Josh Davis turned in another solid performance on the glass. With 16 rebounds, he now has finished with double-digit rebounds in consecutive games… The Hornets were without Cody Zeller for a second-consecutive game, but he was in Vegas and is expected to play in Charlotte’s next game against the New York Knicks.
NEXT UP
The Hornets will look to capture their first win of the summer when they take on the New York Knicks at 4 p.m. EST on July 14 at Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas.