The Charlotte Hornets keep making statements.
When the Hornets visit the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday, they’ll be coming off another lopsided victory, a 130-93 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.
Earlier this season, the Hornets recorded blowout wins on the road against the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder and the Los Angeles Lakers. Charlotte also won by 55 against the Utah Jazz, the largest winning road margin in franchise history.
In Monday’s 37-point victory over the 76ers, Charlotte built, at one point, a 50-point lead. The win snapped an 11-game losing streak to Philadelphia and the blowout represented the sixth win this season by 25 or more points, a franchise record.
The success has come after the team started the season 4-13.
The Hornets are riding a wave they hope continues as they pursue the team’s first playoff participation in 10 years.
Charlotte guard Collin Sexton says the group understands it must handle the success in a proper way.
“Stay hungry, stay in the moment and focus on one game at a time,” Sexton said. “I feel like we have to continue to stay hungry in certain aspects of even going out there. We might jump on teams, and they’re going to make a run and we have to continue to not allow their runs to affect us as a whole and as a group.”
Monday’s win was the team’s 19th of the season, which tied the victory total of last season.
“We’ve been a really resilient group all year,” Hornets coach Charles Lee said. “Whether it’s injuries or being punched in the face or a guy goes off in a corner and has a good moment, I think that we just respond all the time.”
One example was having Monday’s home game moved up four hours to a 3 p.m. ET start because of weather conditions.
“Honestly, (it’s) not allowing circumstances to affect outcomes,” Sexton said. “At the end of the day, you have to just move on. Certain circumstances are going to happen. You might get into a little traffic on the way here. You might show up late, you might need the game to be pushed forward.
“So, little things like that, don’t allow that to affect us. Continue to go out there and fight and continue to execute what we need. And we need wins right now. Each and every game. It does count.”
Guard Brandon Miller has paced the recent surge. He has scored 20 or more points in seven straight games, including 30 Monday against the 76ers. Rookie Kon Knueppel is averaging 18.7 points and shooting 42.2% from long range.
Memphis, which lost 108-99 at Houston on Monday, has struggled for most of the season behind an abundance of injuries, including multiple absences for star guard Ja Morant.
Morant, the subject of trade talks ahead of the Feb. 5 trade deadline, is out for at least three weeks with a left elbow injury. He missed a six-game stretch earlier this month with a right calf contusion.
The Grizzlies have held double-digit leads in each of their past seven games, but won only two of those. Memphis had a 10-point lead against Houston before losing.
“I don’t know what sparked it,” Grizzlies coach Tuomas Iisalo said of the Rockets’ comeback. “They’re a very good team. I was very proud of how we handled ourselves for most of the game. Twenty-one offensive rebounds against one of the most physical teams in the league.”
Memphis has lost 12 games this season after holding double-digit leads.
–Field Level Media
