Charlotte Hornets snap three-game losing skid, beating the Washington Wizards 98-93

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.

Charlotte Hornets lose to the Washington Wizards, 109-99

Charlotte Hornets lost to the Washington Wizards 109 to 99 Monday night. The lost snapped the Hornets 3-game winning streak and it’s the fifth win in six games for the Wizards. The Wizards have won 3 straight against the Hornets including the two times the teams played each other this year. Marvin Williams injured his right big toe in the first half and went into the locker room for evaluations but would come back and play in the second half. The Wizards were red hot in the first half, shooting 57% from the field which helped them get a 60-48 lead at halftime. Charlotte would pull within 5 early in the fourth quarter but the Wizards would go on a 11-0 run that was capped off on a steal and fast break dunk by Kelly Oubre Jr, which helped give the Wizards the win.

            The MVP for the Hornets this game would be Marco Belinelli with 18 points on 5-of-12 (41.7%) shooting off the bench for the Hornets. To be honest it was hard trying to figure out who was the MVP for the Hornets this game since everyone played terrible in my opinion. As a team the Hornets only shot 38% from the field and missed 32 three pointers and the defense was as terrible, just overall a bad game by the Hornets. Leading scores for the Hornets were Kemba Walker with 21 points on 7-of-24 shooting, Cody Zeller with 13 points 9 rebounds and Marvin Williams with 13 points 8 rebounds. The only positive note for the Hornets this game was the fact that the Hornets bench outscored the Wizards bench, 40-22 in points. Washington Wizards leading scores this game were John Wall with 24 points 7 assists, who picked up his 25^th 20-point game of the season, Markieff Morris with 23 points 8 rebounds, Bradley Beal with 18 points, Otto Porter with 14 points 13 rebounds, his seventh double-double of the season. Charlotte Hornets (23-22) host the Golden State Warriors Wednesday night on Steph Curry annual homecoming game in Charlotte, the game will be television on ESPN.

Washington Wizards beat the Charlotte Hornets, 109 to 106

Charlotte Hornets started their five-game road trip with three loses. at Cleveland Saturday, at Indiana Monday and then Wednesday at Washington. The Charlotte Hornets lost to the Washington Wizards 109 to 106. Charlotte started the game red-hot making 10 of 14 shots, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist started 5 for 5 from the field as well. At halftime Hornets led the Wizards 54 to 49 behind Nicolas Batum 14 points and 7 assists. In the third quarter Washington was trailing by 10 but went on a 23 to 5 run that was capped off when John Wall stripped Marco Belinelli and passed it to Otto Porter for a fast break. Bradley Beal started the game 0 for 6 but in the third quarter him and John Wall scored Wizards 19 of 45 points in the quarter, the highest scoring period of the season for the Wizards. The Wizards lead the entirely fourth quarter but Charlotte did go on a little run at the very end to cut the lead to 3 with 10 seconds’ lefts. Nicolas Batum forced a long 3 and missed, Kemba grabbed the rebound and the potential game tying 3 rimmed out to end the game. The Hornets weren’t aggressive in the second-half, allowing the Wizards to grab 12 offensives rebound and have 15 steals.

            The MVP for the Hornets would be Nicolas Batum with 20 points and 8 assists on his 28^th birthday. Who was aggressive the first half, scoring or assisted on 9 of the team’s 12 made field goals in the first quarter. Hornets leading scorers was Cody Zeller with 18 points on 6 of 7 shooting from the field, Kemba Walker with 17 points 6 rebounds and 9 assists, Marco Belinelli with 16 points on 6 of 10 shooting from the field and 4 for 6 shooting from three pointers. Wizards leading scorers were John Wall with 25 points and 10 assists and 20 points career-high 9 assists and 7 steals and Marcin Gortat with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Charlotte Hornets (14-12) play Saturday at Boston Celtics.