A chilly 3-point output and some late defensive breakdowns were just about the only two things that really went wrong for the Charlotte Hornets in their 113-104 road-trip-opening loss to the LA Clippers on Tuesday night.
Miles Bridges posted Hornets’ team highs in both points (21) and rebounds (11) for his fifth double-double of the campaign, while Nick Richards tallied 13 points and 10 rebounds for his second straight double-double and third in four games. Terry Rozier added 18 points, but it came on an inefficient 8-of-23 shooting clip and just 1-of-8 from 3-point range.
Trailing by 10 with 4:04 remaining in the third quarter, Charlotte’s offense finally got in gear, sparking a 24-7 run and a 91-84 advantage by the 9:29 mark of the fourth. The Clippers instantly responded with their own pendulum-swinging 19-2 stretch to retake that 10-point lead with four minutes to go. The deficit got halved to five about 60 seconds later, but that was as close as the Hornets got as they dropped their 14th consecutive road meeting with the Clippers.
A lot of the ground that Charlotte made up in the second half took place with James Harden – who finished with 29 points (20 in the first half), six 3-pointers, six rebounds, eight assists and a +20 plus-minus – sitting on the bench. When the 10-time All-Star reentered with eight minutes remaining in the fourth, everything shifted for both the Clippers’ offense and Hornets’ defense.
“James Harden was the best player in the game,” said Hornets Head Coach Steve Clifford following the loss. “When he was out, we took good advantage of it. When he came back in, we just couldn’t guard him. We tried everything we could do basically, and he crushed it. He was out and we were in good shape. He came in and the game changed. He got beat badly from the 3-point line and from the free-throw line, also.”
Charlotte finished a season-low-tying 6-of-29 from 3-point range (20.7%), with half those makes coming in an 11-2 run to open the fourth quarter (3-of-11 overall in the frame). The Clippers canned 14-of-34 attempts from deep (41.2%) – Harden and Paul George accounted for 11 of them – and made 19-of-25 from the charity stripe (Charlotte was 12-of-16).
In addition to LaMelo Ball, Mark Williams (lower back contusion) missed his eighth straight game and rookie Brandon Miller (right ankle sprain) sat out his third contest of the year. To make matters a little worse on the injury front, Gordon Hayward made his way to the locker room in the third quarter with a left calf strain and did not return.
Along with Harden, George (25) also crossed the 20-point threshold, while center Ivica Zubac had 18 points and 14 rebounds for his 10th double-double of the campaign. Russell Westbrook totaled 14 points and 11 rebounds off the bench, helping the Clippers – who were without leading-scorer Kawhi Leonard – snap a small two-game slide and move to 10-2 in December.
The Hornets will stay in the City of Angels for a couple days, then face the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday, Dec. 28 beginning at 10:30 PM ET. Follow all the action on Bally Sports Southeast and WFNZ 92.7 FM.
Hornets vs Clippers Gallery ‑ 12/26/23
1 / 10LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 26: Bryce McGowans #7 of the Charlotte Hornets goes to the basket during the game on December 26, 2023 at Crypto.Com Arena in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2023 NBAE (Photo by Juan Ocampo/NBAE via Getty Images)
