Opening 4th-Quarter Stretch Proves Costly For Hornets In DC

Poor Shooting, Timely Washington Rebounding Sends Charlotte to 11^th Loss in 12 Games

It sounds pretty self-explanatory, but a major reason (besides the injuries) for the Charlotte Hornets’ early struggles this year has been their inability to simply play consistent basketball. On Sunday night in Washington, all it took was one bad two-minute stretch at the start of the fourth quarter to lay the groundwork for a 106-102 road loss to the Wizards.   

Kelly Oubre Jr. led the Hornets in scoring for the second consecutive game, totaling 23 points – 10 coming in the third quarter – on 10-of-20 shooting overall and seven rebounds in the loss. Gordon Hayward also had 20 points, although briefly went to the locker room in the fourth quarter after reaggravating a left shoulder injury that cost him eight games earlier this month.

Charlotte led 53-48 with 2:35 remaining in the second quarter, before Washington grabbed momentum with a 12-2 spurt heading into the break. The Hornets held the Wizards to 18 third-quarter points and led 79-77 at the start of the fourth, but once again, the hosts re-seized control with an 11-2 frame-opening run – which included a pair of second-chance 3-pointers – to go up by seven. From there, Washington never trailed again, eventually icing the game with free throws at the end.

“I think the first three minutes of the fourth quarter was the game,” said Hornets Head Coach Steve Clifford afterwards. “[Washington] is playing without Bradley Beal and Kristaps Porziņģis on the floor and they went up [seven] right away. That was the biggest part of the game. We have to start playing tougher and be more physical. It can’t just be when we feel good. We have to rebound and have a block-out attitude. It cost us the game in Cleveland. We start playing tougher and with some physicality, we’ll start to win.”

Added Oubre, “They came out and punched first. We got stunned in a sense and we weren’t able to respond fast enough. They had the momentum pretty much throughout the whole fourth quarter.”

The Hornets actually won the overall rebounding battle by two (51-49), but the boards they didn’t get seemed to be the more impactful ones. Washington had seven offensive rebounds in the fourth – double its total in the opening three quarters – leading to 12 second-chance points. Charlotte’s offense didn’t provide much margin for error – the squad shot under 40% again (39%; 39-of-100) and went only 8-of-32 from 3-point range (25%).

Individually, Nick Richards (11 points and 10 rebounds) notched his second consecutive double-double, marking the first time he’s done so at the NBA level. PJ Washington was also in double figures with 13 points and Dennis Smith Jr. racked up six points, three assists, two steals, two blocks and a team-best +15 plus-minus rating in his first outing following a four-game absence.

Kyle Kuzma (28 points) and Beal (26 points) both had big showings for the Wizards, who won for the sixth time in seven games. Fellow starter Deni Avdija added 12 points on 6-of-11 shooting to go along with a game and season-high 13 rebounds.

The Hornets will get a much-needed two days off before hosting the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday, Nov. 23 beginning at 7 PM ET at Spectrum Center. Follow all the action on Bally Sports Southeast and WFNZ FM 92.7