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Opening Night was always going to be circled on the Hornets calendar, even before an extra wrinkle of motivation was added when the schedule dropped two months ago. Their opponent? None other than the Indiana Pacers, the same team that ended Charlotte’s 2020-21 season in humiliating fashion with a 27-point win in the NBA Play-In Game this past May.
The stakes weren’t nearly as high in the regular season opener for both sides on Wednesday night in Buzz City, but the theatrics certainly reached a seismic level. Trailing by 23 with nine minutes left in the third quarter, Charlotte closed the frame on a 29-4 run, then went blow for blow with the visiting Pacers down the stretch and into the closing moments of regulation.
Thankfully for their feverish fans, the Hornets landed the final punch with two late go-ahead free throws by PJ Washington. Pivoting around Washington’s blanket defensive coverage at the other end, Domantas Sabonis’ last-ditch attempt clanged off the iron at the buzzer, sealing a 123-122 Charlotte victory and sending the first full crowd at Spectrum Center since before the pandemic into a complete and utter frenzy.
“It started with our defense,” said Head Coach James Borrego afterwards. “We held them to 13 points [in the third quarter]. It was just our overall pressure and defensive mentality. They didn’t feel us in the first half – it was too easy. They felt us that whole third quarter. To put on a run like that, that’s great for our group. It got us back in the game and then you look at the way we closed, that was important as well.”
Said LaMelo Ball, “I definitely loved the crowd. When they started getting into the game with the chants, yelling, ‘Defense, defense, defense,’ it was a blessing. I just love being a part of stuff like that.” Added Gordon Hayward, “The crowd brings you life, it brings you energy. You get a couple buckets, a couple steals, some easy ones and now all of a sudden, it’s a little bit harder for them. It was a fun atmosphere. It just goes to show we need our fans. They brought us some life.”
Ball helped spark the enormous come-from-behind triumph (which tied the second-largest in franchise history), finishing with 31 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, two steals, just two turnovers and a career-high-tying seven three-pointers. Sabonis got an early start on earning his third straight NBA All-Star Game nomination and led Indiana with a game-high 33 points on 13-of-19 shooting and 15 rebounds.
The ‘Indiana revenge game factor’ has been a storyline for the Hornets throughout training camp and the preseason. Absences from Terry Rozier (who was out again this game with a left ankle sprain), Hayward, Mason Plumlee and Kelly Oubre Jr. stalled some of the chemistry-building process over the past few weeks though. There is plenty of room for improvement moving forward, although the excitement in this one will surely be hard to top.
Charlotte will now embark on its first road trip of the season on Thursday afternoon, which features stops in Cleveland on Friday night and in Brooklyn on Sunday afternoon.