Postgame Coverage: Game Gallery | Bridges Highlights | Coach Borrego | PJ Washington
A solid opening 24 minutes to the Charlotte Hornets’ two-game road trip was wiped away after half as they fell to the Washington Wizards, 121-107, on Thursday, Jan. 30 at Capital One Arena.
Miles Bridges finished with a team-high 23 points on 8-of-17 shooting, six rebounds (five offensive), three assists and two steals in the loss, which was Charlotte’s ninth in 10 outings. In three meetings with Washington this season, Bridges is averaging 23.3 PPG on 50.0% shooting from the field and 45.0% from three (9-of-20).
Charlotte led by five at half before the Wizards won the third quarter, 31-19, and entered the fourth with an 86-79 advantage. Washington shot 60.0% from the field in the frame and got 11 points from Isaiah Thomas as the Hornets connected on just 6-of-23 shot attempts (26.1%). The hosts then opened the final 12 minutes on a 9-3 run and never looked back in route to a fifth win in six home outings. On the night, Washington dominated the rebounding battle, 57-38.
“It was the board and the defense. They had 66 points in the second half,” said Coach Borrego. “Solid first half, but not great. We talked about the board at halftime and before the game. A lack of physicality, presence and pride about getting a rebound out there. We didn’t deserve to win tonight. It was a very disappointing second half.”
He added, “You can’t teach pride and physicality. They have to figure that out. If they want to win a game, if we want to win a game, they have to go get rebounds. Sometimes, that’s boxing out. Sometimes, that digging one out. Sometimes, that’s presence out there figuring out a way to get a rebound. That’s the bottom line. This isn’t tricky. We could do 20 minutes of rebounding drills, but in the end, they have to have pride about rebounding the ball.”
Terry Rozier notched 21 points, seven rebounds and three assists, while PJ Washington (15 points), Willy Hernangómez (12) and Devonte’ Graham (11) rounded out the Hornets’ double-figure scorers. Graham also added a team-high eight assists and Cody Zeller chipped in nine points, seven rebounds and career-high-tying seven dimes.
On the other side, Bradley Beal had game highs across the board in scoring (34 points; 14-of-15 from the free-throw line), rebounding (9) and assists (9) in the victory. Thomas Bryant (21 points on 9-of-11 shooting), Isaiah Thomas (18), Troy Brown Jr. (12) and Ish Smith (11 points, nine coming in fourth) also had double-digit scoring performances for the Wizards.
Washington won the bench scoring battle, 52-28 and connected on 25-of-27 shots from the line (92.6%). Charlotte had just nine total turnovers leading to 11 Washington points, although shot just 9-of-30 from distance (30.0%).
The Hornets will wrap up their two-game road trip on Saturday, Feb. 1 when they face the San Antonio Spurs beginning at 9 PM EST at the AT&T Center. Catch the game on Fox Sports Southeast or listen in on WFNZ 610 AM/102.5 FM or the Hornets app.