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Carmelo, Covington Lead Resurgent Blazers over Hornets

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In a game where everyone and their mother decided they wanted to test their range, the Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Charlotte Hornets 123-111 at the Moda Center.

Carmelo Anthony led the Blazers with 29 points off the bench while Damian Lillard and Robert Covington both put up double-doubles. Lillard had 23 points and 10 assists; Covington had 21 points and 10 rebounds along with two steals and two blocks. Lamelo Ball led the Hornets in scoring with 30 points on the night.

If you want a quarter-by-quarter rundown of the action, see Ryan Rosback’s instant recap here.

Hot Shooting Propels Blazers

Man, what a fun offensive game from Portland. Anytime you hit 24 threes, it’s going good. [ed. You can say that again. It was an all-time franchise record.] Anytime you do so on 26 assists, it’s going even better. It was an incredible shot-making display from Portland tonight, and it completely offset Charlotte’s otherwise stellar offensive night (15 made threes on 44% shooting is very good!).

Good offense is the most important factor in the NBA at this moment. If your team can dominate from the three-point arc, they’re never out of any game. Portland especially is a team that needs nights like this to make up for subpar defense. It’s an cliché and tired saying, but the team that makes the most shots really has the best chance to win.

Blitzing Dame

This was something that we saw a lot of in this one, especially early on. The Hornets’ sole focus defensively seemed to be “make anyone but Dame beat you.” That’s not particularly surprising. Teams around the league have done it for many seasons. While I will admit I was worried in the beginning when the Blazers trailed after the first because of this strategy, I was pleased with how well they adjusted.

Tonight the supporting cast made shots when called upon. Blitzing defenses have killed Portland for years in the playoffs; only CJ McCollum can hit shots consistently. They aren’t going to play Charlotte in the playoffs, but it was encouraging to know the Blazers are capable of hitting when called upon.

ROCO!!!

Let’s talk about Robert Covington for a second because…wow. He’s a career 35% shooter from deep, but when a guy struggles like he has this year, it feels surreal to see him hit 5 of 7 threes in a game. He was supremely efficient offensively and was stellar on defense yet again with a pair of blocks, two steals. and 10 rebounds. It was the perfect Covington game.

It’s been tough watching RoCo struggle with his shot all season, especially considering his role offensively has always been “I will make the three if you pass it to me.” It’s very important that he hits threes and I’m happy to see Covington play well offensively.

Nassir Little Getting Minutes

Few things this season have made me happier than seeing Nassir Little playing basketball. He plays with so much energy and looks like he’s having fun at least like 99% of the time. Watching him get 20 minutes of action tonight was perfect. He played well.

Little ran the floor and rolled hard to the basket when needed. He finished dunks with authority. He looked fairly comfortable shooting movement threes. I think there’s an argument that he should be getting more minutes than Rodney Hood, although that’s difficult considering Hood’s ball-handling ability (Hood was also +15 tonight if you care about that kind of thing).

The Duality of Melo

Look, I don’t want to be a total downer when it comes to Carmelo Anthony because tonight was fun. His fourth quarter was absolutely absurd. He hit four threes and at least two of them were of the “No no no no…YES!” variety. I even grinned from ear-to-ear when he exchanged jerseys with LaMelo Ball afterwards. It was a very fun end to the game for Melo.

However, while the end was fun, this was also a perfect game for showing the duality of Anthony. In the even quarters, you’d be forgiven for thinking you were watching a throwback Knicks game. In the odd quarters, he was a black hole that stopped ball movement entirely and killed possessions by either trying to draw a foul or just shooting a bad shot. There’s a give and take with Melo, and I think there has to be a better balance to it. Just because he posts up doesn’t mean he needs to shoot it. It’s hard to stop that, but the answer seems to just be less post-ups. But in the end, it was just fun to see Melo finish the game with an insane shooting display.

[ed. 5 steals and 2 blocks to go along with his 29 points eased most of the sting. Both Melos played defense tonight! Yay!]

Ending the Skid

The most important thing for Portland on any given night is the win. This victory ends a four-game skid and puts them back on track to finish the first half of the schedule strong. They have the Warriors and the Kings up next, two teams that are definitely beatable. Can they end the week on a high note and then make a push with a healthy CJ in the second half? It’s possible.

Up Next

Instant Recap

Box Score

On Wednesday night the Blazers will face off against the Golden State Warriors at the Moda Center. Tip-off is set 7:00 p.m. PT.

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Charlotte Hornets rally in final minute to deal Sacramento Kings ‘painful loss’

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Charlotte guard Malik Monk converted a three-point play with 1.4 seconds remaining to complete a frantic Hornets rally in the final minute Sunday night and hand the Sacramento Kings what coach Luke Walton called a “painful loss” for his group.

Sacramento led 123-115 following a dunk by Harrison Barnes, but Walton’s team couldn’t close it out. The Kings missed five free throws over the final 69 seconds and lost for the 10th time in 11 games.

“Come to an end of a game, that’s where we have to step up and put teams out, and we didn’t do it,” Walton said. “Give Charlotte credit. They hit 3s and made every free throw down the stretch. That’s a painful loss for our guys. We didn’t finish it out.”

Monk finished with 21 points to help Charlotte come back despite playing without leading scorer Gordon Hayward, who sat out with a hand injury. P.J. Washington scored a career-high 42 points, and LaMelo Ball added 24 points and a career-best 12 assists for the Hornets, who trailed the entire fourth quarter before Monk’s game-winning play made the final score 127-126.

“It goes back to that term of resiliency, never dropping the sword, never giving in and fighting until the final second,” Hornets coach James Borrego said. “They had to miss some free throws to help us out, but we found a way. Down men, we found a way to win. Just proud of our group.”

Hornets guard Terry Rozier hit a 3-pointer and then added three free throws after being fouled by Barnes with 33.7 seconds left.

After Washington’s fifth 3 cut the lead to 125-124 with 17 seconds remaining, Buddy Hield hit one of two free throws for the Kings.

Monk followed by driving down the lane and flipping the ball off the backboard with his right hand. He was fouled by Richaun Holmes.

“It was a play for me or P.J.,” Monk said. “I told [Ball] to pass it to P, and he was like, nah. I had to make something happen.”

Hield, who finished with 30 points, missed a desperation heave from beyond midcourt as time ran out. Earlier Sunday night, he became the fastest player in NBA history to reach 1,000 career 3-pointers, doing so in his 350th career game. Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors was the previous fastest at 369 games.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Draymond Green ‘crossed the line’ with technicals vs. Hornets

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With 4:44 remaining against the Charlotte Hornets, Draymond Green tipped in a missed attempt from Eric Paschall to give the Golden State Warriors a 10 point lead with the fourth quarter winding down. Prior to his tip-in, the former Defensive Player of the Year hit a timely 3-pointer to extend Golden State’s late lead.

Despite his pair of clutch points, Green’s performance against the Hornets will be remembered for what happened in the final seconds.

With the Warriors leading by two points with 9.3 seconds remaining in the contest, LaMelo Ball lined up for a jump ball against Brad Wanamaker. Following the tip. Charlotte quickly called a timeout as Green and Gordon Hayward scrambled for the loose ball. Upset after Charlotte was awarded a timeout and possession, Green lost his cool. While barking at the officials, the Golden State forward received a pair of technicals leading to an ejection.

Along with Green’s exit from the game at a crucial time, Charlotte received two technical free throws and a chance to steal the contest with the final possession. As the clock ran down, Terry Rozier drilled a fading jumper from the corner to win the game for Charlotte at the buzzer, 102-100.

Following Golden State’s frustrating loss to the Hornets, Steve Kerr called Green’s technicals “a terrible mistake.”

Via @anthonyVslater on Twitter:

In his postgame press conference with reporters, Kerr went on to say Green crossed the line.

He crossed the line. That’s the main thing. We love his passion and his energy. We would not be the team we are without him, but that doesn’t give him the license to cross that line.

Via @usatodaynba on Twitter:

After the game, Paschall told reporters Green took ownership of his pair of technicals in Charlotte.

Green finished the contest with five points on 2-of-7 shooting from the field with seven boards, three assists and two blocks in 32 minutes against the Hornets. Green and the Warriors will have the chance to bounce back on Tuesday with a trip to Madison Square Garden for a battle with the New York Knicks.



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Charlotte Hornets rookie LaMelo Ball goes off for big night against Houston Rockets

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Have a Monday night LaMelo Ball.

The Charlotte Hornets’ rookie point guard tied team records, had some amazing assists and buried a career-high seven 3-pointers in the Hornets’ 119-94 win over the Houston Rockets. The effort also helped slow down the Rockets, who had won four of their past five road games by double-digits.

“Stepped on the court. No warm-up, no nothing,” Ball said in a postgame interview on NBA TV. “Was still cool.”

According to Elias Sports Bureau research, Ball is the third player, age 19 or younger, to record multiple games of 20 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists, joining LeBron James and Luka Doncic. Pretty good company.

Ball finished with 24 points, 10 assists and 7 rebounds and did it in a variety of fun ways.

Shooting 3s

Ball tied his career high with four 3s in the first half Monday night. He finished with seven 3-pointers, which tied the Hornets’ rookie record. Ball has made 45 3s in 25 games. For comparison, at the same point in his career, Lonzo, LaMelo’s older brother, had 25 made 3s.

Ball is averaging 22.6 PPG in his past five games (all starts) compared to 12.2 PPG in his first 20 games, in which he came off the bench in every game, per ESPN Stats & Information research.

The assists and passing

Ball had 10 assists Monday, one short of his career high of 11, done twice this season.

With the performance, Ball is the youngest player in NBA history to record a game with 20 points, 10 assists and at least five 3-pointers.

ESPN Stats & Information contributed to this report.



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