Maybe the Hornets won’t be so bad, after all. Or maybe the Rockets just had opening-night jitters. But hey, no one expected Charlotte to go into Houston, lose Brandon Miller to a hip injury, and emerge victorious on Wednesday night.
That’s what happened, with the Hornets claiming a 110-105 win.
It certainly helped that LaMelo Ball returned and was brilliant on his way to 34 points, 11 assists, a steal and a block.
The bad news was the injury to Miller, a true rising star who’s in his second season. He missed the entire second half with hip soreness. If the Hornets hope to end their eight-year playoff drought, they’ll need Ball, Miller and Miles Bridges all in the lineup at the same time. Such good fortune eluded them last season.
Either way, this is a new day in Charlotte, with new head of basketball operations Jeff Peterson and new coach Charles Lee, formerly a longtime NBA assistant.
On this night, it was Grant Williams who hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 40 seconds to go to secure the victory.
“It’s unfortunate to not have some of those guys in your lineup,” Lee said, addressing the Miller injury, via Rod Boone of the Charlotte Observer. “They are obviously key members of our team and what we do, but I think it’s a testament to the environment we created. Anyone is ready for their opportunity because they put in the work every day.”
And who knows? Maybe the Hornets can become this season’s sleeper. They certainly are off to a rousing start in that department.
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