Hornets win 7th straight game in victory over Pelicans

CHARLOTTE, N.C.— Just call it Groundhog Day on Groundhog Day.

If ever there was a situation that perfectly depicted how things have been for the Charlotte Hornets lately, it was Monday afternoon. Inclement weather, highlighted by the leftover snow and ice from the latest winter storm to hit the region, forced the tipoff of their matchup with the New Orleans Pelicans to be pushed up four hours.

For those who may have lost track, that’s four straight Hornets’ home games affected, creating a situation that probably mirrors the 1993 movie featuring Bill Murray. Because the results have all been the same, akin to Murray waking up and reliving the same Feb. 2 experience over and over again.

“The team is doing great, of course, but I also got to tip my hats off to the Charlotte fans,” Brandon Miller said after the Hornets upended New Orleans 102-95 at Spectrum Center. “They’ve been showing up every home game with any condition. We’ve had a lot of snow here and just to see the fans still show up, it’s kind of … it’s heartwarming.

“So, just seeing them in here, it just helps us and gives us the momentum to have games like this and tough crowds for other teams. So, I encourage them to keep showing up and keep helping us.”

That probably won’t be much of an issue.

Here’s just how good the Hornets (23-28) have been of late: in winning their seventh straight game, they’ve reached heights that haven’t been attained since 2016. Charlotte also owns the longest current win streak in the NBA.

And they’ve moved within one game of the Atlanta Hawks — a team Charlotte plays twice over the course of this next week — for the final play-in tournament spot in the Eastern Conference.

“We’ve got new faces in here and we are just throwing all of those (old) years from before away,” LaMelo Ball told The Charlotte Observer. “We just want to be us. Make something new here and get a culture going.”

Performances like the one they put together against New Orleans (13-39) can surely bolster that. The Hornets showed some guile, climbing out of a cavernous 22-point deficit that was a direct result of too many turnovers, a lack of defensive intensity and yielding a flurry of 30 first-half points in the paint.

In digging deep, the Hornets turned things around and held the Pelicans below 20 points in the third quarter as well as the fourth, proving they can get it done in come-from-behind fashion, too.

“I think that’s just kind of who we are,” coach Charles Lee said. “No matter what’s kind of thrown our way, our ability to respond and take punches and learn (as a) team goes on a run, team’s playing well, let’s also have the maturity to understand that the other team is going on a run — credit to them.

“They’re playing well, but we also got good looks and we missed them, and we got to stay confident in the looks that we got, keep playing the right way and understand that defensively is where we had some slippage. So, I love the improvement that we just made throughout the whole game.”

Here are some key things of note from the Hornets’ latest victory:

Ball fine after injury scare

Things took a rough turn early on for the Hornets.

Ball, off to an effective start with four points, a rebound and an assist during the game’s initial three minutes, was chasing after a loose ball following an errant pass from Miles Bridges when he came face-to-face — literally — with Lee as the coach roamed courtside. Ball collided hard with Lee and both crumpled quickly to the floor, quieting the arena while many looked on anxiously. Lee rose to his feet first as Ball took a bit longer to gather himself before going straight to the locker room to get checked out.

Luckily, Ball only suffered a laceration above his right eye.

“That’s Melo just continuing to compete,” Lee said. “I took a play off and you’re not supposed to take any plays off. I thought the ball was going out of bounds and I was going to save it from going into the stands, and he was going to save the ball, and we went head-to-head. And credit to him.

“He didn’t yell at me too bad, but I apologized, obviously. And I love his spirit of like, ‘OK, let me get to the back, let me get cleaned up. I want to get back out there.’ And he was right back out there. Just shows the growth that he continues to have to be able to take a bump or a bruise like that, shake it off and come back out.”

Ball isn’t about to rib Lee too much over the incident, though.

“I know he played hoops, so I’m going to cut a little slack for him. I feel like if I was a coach, I probably would have …”

Then Ball went into joke mode.

“Nah, that’s my IQ, you know what I’m saying?” he said. “I would have backed off from my player. But nah, it’s all good, though. It’s all love.”

Ball’s former head coach gave him a huge bit of praise, too. If anyone has an idea how Ball’s game has developed since his rookie season, it’s James Borrego.

“Well, he’s grown in a number of ways,” Borrego said. “We had him as a young guy, and we saw progress even in those two years. For him to be rookie of the year, and then I think his second year at an All-Star level … to see his growth as a competitor, he values both sides of the ball. I see him guarding right now, mature decision-making, managing the game. Something that we’ve always talked about, even as a young Melo. But he’s competing on both sides of the ball.

“That’s the biggest thing I could say. He’s bringing the same joy and fire. ..., I’m very happy for him.”

Lee listed a litany of areas where Ball left his mark for the Hornets during this recent span, rattling off things like improved shot selection and relying on more trust in his teammates.

But the real praise came for what Lee’s seeing from Ball on the opposite end of the court where he typically makes his largest impact.

“I would just start defensively,” Lee said. “His ability to have the activity that he has right now has been great. I think that whether we’re putting him on a secondary defender or a secondary ball-handler or a primary ball-handler, a screener, whatever the situation is, I feel like he’s just been way more active, way more engaged. Which is what we need.

“And not just engaged the first quarter, but the second quarter, the third quarter. You can feel it and our guys are feeling it. And it becomes contagious.”

Miller grabs weekly honor

Miller did something that hadn’t been accomplished in a while around here.

On Monday, the NBA announced Miller was named the Eastern Conference player of the week, becoming the 14th player in franchise history to grab a player of the week nod and the first since Bridges was a recipient during the opening week of the 2021-22 season.

In helping lead the Hornets to a 4-0 record this past week, Miller averaged 26.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game while making 51.6% of his attempts overall and draining 50% beyond the 3-point arc.

The third-year swingman, whose stretch of 10 straight games with 20 or more points got snapped against New Orleans, also went 25 for 25 from the free throw line. He’s been on a real tear, tying for first in the conference with 16 made 3-pointers made and was third in the conference in total points (105) and in free throws made (25).

“It’s a great achievement,” Miller said. “I take my hats off to my teammates, who are just trusting me. All I can do is trust them back, so we’re going to keep this win streak going.”

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