Sportsnaut
Terry Rozier scored 22 points and the Charlotte Hornets continued their hottest stretch of the season by defeating the visiting Detroit Pistons 117-106 on Monday night.
The Hornets have won five games in a row and this one was largely defined by 3-point shooting. Charlotte made 13 of 26 shots from 3-point range, while the Pistons were 3-for-26.
Gordon Hayward added 19 points and Kelly Oubre Jr. and LaMelo Ball both had 18 points for Charlotte. All of Ball’s points came on 3-pointers. Mark Williams provided 15 points and 11 rebounds.
James Wiseman scored 23 points on 9-for-11 shooting from the field for the Pistons, who have lost five games in a row. Hamidou Diallo’s 23 points and Marvin Bagley III’s 21 points gave Detroit some scoring punch off the bench. Alec Burks had 17 points and Killian Hayes provided 12 points and 10 rebounds.
The Pistons tried to make it interesting by closing within 92-86 when the Hornets went more than 3 1/2 minutes without scoring to begin the fourth quarter.
Three-point plays from both Hayward and Oubre helped get Charlotte back on track.
Williams later scored for the Hornets and Oubre’s 3-pointer at the 3:35 mark pushed the lead to 109-99.
Even though Charlotte committed 16 turnovers to just nine charged to the Pistons, the long-range shooting more than made up for those mistakes.
The Hornets finished with a 46-39 rebounding edge. Dennis Smith Jr. came off the Charlotte bench to contribute a team-high seven assists.
The Hornets led 65-46 at halftime, aided by 56.1 percent shooting from the field that included a 9-for-15 mark on threes. Ball had five of those 3-pointers. The Pistons were just 2-for-18 from beyond the arc in the half.
The Pistons were 2-0 this season against the Hornets entering the game.
–Field Level Media
