Charlotte Hornets defeated the Washington Wizards 98-93 on Cam Newton bubble head night. Snaps Charlotte three-game losing streak, while the Wizards have lost three out of their last four games. Charlotte is four games back of Miami for the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs with 13 games left. Charlotte Hornets signed center Johnny O'Bryant to a rest of the season contract and point guard Briante Weber to a two-year deal early this week. Weber is expected to be the backup point guard for the rest of the season, while O’Bryant is expected to return soon from an ankle sprain and be the backup center until Plumlee is fully healthy. Hornets starting shooting guard Nic Batum was back in the starting lineup after missing the past two games due to a migraine. Kemba Walker hit a clutch three-pointer to give the Hornets a 93-86 lead with 1:23 seconds left in the game. Beal answered with a three of his own and then stole an inbound pass at midcourt and dunked to cut Charlotte lead to two with 17 seconds remaining. Marco Belinelli was fouled with 13 seconds left but only made one of the free throws, giving the Wizards a chance to tie with 14 seconds to play But Beal missed a step-back three from 28 feet with 10 seconds, Marvin Williams grabbed the rebounds and was fouled and made two free throws to seal the victory for the Charlotte Hornets.
The MVP for the Hornets this game was Cody Zeller who scored 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting and grabbed 5 rebounds. Cody was a man on a mission, Zeller was doing it on both sides of the court, grabbing a season-high 4 steals and blocking 2 shots. If it wasn’t for Cody the Hornets might not have been in this game, since he and Marvin were the only two Hornets to make a field goal in the first quarter. Charlotte looked like their old selves this game, playing great defense; holding the Wizards to just 36% from the field. To moving without great without the ball and outscoring the Wizards 40-28 in the paint. If the Hornets could ever get everybody healthy and play like they did tonight, they wouldn’t have to be worried about missing the playoffs because they would already be a playoff contender. The leading scorers for the Hornets this game were Marvin Williams with 16 points 8 rebounds, Kemba Walker with 16 points 6 assists, Frank Kaminsky with 14 points, Nicolas Batum with 8 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists. The leading scorers for the Wizards this game were John Wall with 19 points 8 assists, Bradley Beal with 18 points, Otto Porter Jr. with 16 points, Bojan Bogdanovic with 12 points, Marcin Gortat with 6 points and 16 rebounds. Charlotte Hornets (30-39) host the Atlanta Hawks on Monday night.
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