Ball Movement Ignites Hornets’ Blowout Victory In Summer League Finale

It might have taken seven attempts, but the Charlotte Hornets will be heading home with a long-sought-after Summer League win in hand, following a 109-92 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday afternoon.

Holding a six-point lead after the opening 10 minutes, the Hornets proceeded to drill 7-of-11 second-quarter 3-point attempts (63.6%) to more than double their advantage heading into halftime. Charlotte continued to pass, attack and then attacked some more throughout the second half, rolling to a feel-good lopsided triumph. According to RealGM.com, the 109 points scored were the second-most in the franchise’s Summer League history, behind only a 121-87 victory over Sacramento on July 13, 2012.  

Prior to the game, the Hornets ranked last in Las Vegas Summer League play with only 12.0 assists per contest, much of that a byproduct of their earlier shooting struggles. They nearly tripled that mark with 34 assists on 39 made field goals, good for an assist percentage of 87.2%. As a team, Charlotte shot 53.4% and canned 13-of-29 shots from behind the arc (44.8%).

“You’re only as good as your last game,” said Simmons. “I’m going to say that. We came out here and we left with a W. All the guys played well, we played together first and foremost. All the guys on the bench were cheering for us. We got back to having fun. I started this game, so I think passing is contagious. Everybody was getting involved and scoring. Throughout the whole game, we maintained the lead and finished on a strong note.”

With this being the final contest, Brandon Miller, Kai Jones, Bryce McGowens, James Bouknight, Nick Smith Jr. and Leaky Black all sat out, giving Charlotte’s deeper rotational players a chance to finally see some action. Amari Bailey (17 points), Nathan Mensah (14), Kobi Simmons (13), Justin Robinson (13), James Nnaji (10) and Trevon Scott (10) all cracked double figures, with Simmons and Robinson also each dishing eight assists and Nnaji tallying five blocks.

Added Simmons, “Those young guys came out here and showed what they could do. The other stuff they’re going to learn, it’s going to be easy to fill in. All of them are going to have great careers. I tried to show them the different IQ and pace stuff that separates the game. I’ve been around, so I know it. Seeing them play, Nick, B-Mill, AB (Bailey), they’re going to be good. They attack, they’re aggressive regardless of whatever. That’s always good.”

On the Minnesota side, Winston-Salem State product Javonte Cooke scored a team-high 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting in 23 minutes off the bench, while Wendell Moore Jr. followed right behind him with 15 points. Josh Minott and rookie Leonard Miller both contributed 13 points to a Timberwolves squad that just couldn’t get it going from 3-point range (7-of-25; 28%).

With Summer League all wrapped up for the Hornets, the next time they’ll be back on the floor will be for the start of training camp in late September, followed by preseason play in October.