Hornets Attempt Mammoth Comeback, Washington Sets Reserve Record

Friday night’s 34-point home loss to Houston was a tale of two halves for the Charlotte Hornets. Twenty-four hours later, their back-to-back finisher against Utah unfolded in somewhat similar fashion and with the same outcome, a 134-122 setback to the Jazz.

PJ Washington exploded for a career-high-tying 43 points on 17-of-22 shooting and a career-high-tying seven 3-pointers in the losing effort, breaking the single-game franchise record for scoring off the bench. Washington’s total was also the most by any NBA reserve in a regulation game since Feb. 4, 2023, when Brooklyn’s Cam Thomas rang up 44 against Washington.

This historic individual showing by Washington wasn’t nearly enough to erase a disastrous team start. Almost immediately, Charlotte’s defense provided very little resistance to Utah, which got whatever shots it wanted from the get-go. The Jazz piled up 47 first-quarter points – the most ever by a Hornets’ opponent – then added another 35 in the second to take an 82-47 halftime lead. These 82 first-half points (also an opponent franchise record) ran the total that the Hornets had allowed over their previous four quarters to a staggering 165.

But just like how Friday’s game flipped at halftime, so did this one, too. Charlotte won the third quarter, 41-23, trimming a once 36-point deficit down to only 17. Led by Washington’s incessant shot-making, the Hornets continued to whittle away in the fourth, eventually pulling with seven with under a minute to go. But they simply ran out of time and stops, as Collin Sexton soon rolled in a layup, leading into a game-sealing empty possession for Charlotte.

“We weren’t ready to play,” said Hornets Head Coach Steve Clifford afterwards, when asked about the team’s first-half performance. “Our defense was better in the second half. We played harder. We tried harder. That’s what we did. We tried harder.”

Added Washington, “It was a terrible effort on the defensive end [in the first half]. We were playing way too soft and letting them get into a rhythm early. It’s hard to win when you let them get 82 in the first half. For us, that’s just unacceptable. I got hot and kept trying to take open shots. Credit my teammates for finding me, but obviously, it wasn’t enough. We didn’t do too good defensively in the second half, either.”

Nick Richards upped his career scoring high from earlier in the week, finishing with 26 points on 10-of-11 shooting, a game-high 13 rebounds and a season-high-tying four blocks. This was Richards’ third-ever 20-10 game and second in three outings. Ish Smith got the start in place of LaMelo Ball, becoming the fourth player in NBA history with no points, no turnovers and at least 12 assists (Fat Lever, Chris Duhon, José Calderón) in a single game, per Basketball Reference.

Leading the way for Utah was Lauri Markkanen, who had 33 points – 18 in the first quarter – on 12-of-18 shooting, a season-high seven 3-pointers and 12 rebounds in the win. Sexton (24) and John Collins (20) both reached 20 points, with the former dishing out a career-high 13 assists for his second double-double of the season. Utah become the fourth consecutive Charlotte opponent to shoot at least 50.0% from the field (55.9%) and 39.0% from 3-point range (41.5%).

The Hornets will continue their four-game homestand against the New York Knicks on Monday, Jan. 29 beginning at 7 PM ET at Spectrum Center. Follow all the action on Bally Sports Southeast and WFNZ 92.7 FM.