By Sam Perley, hornets.com
Looking to close out their four-game road trip with a much-needed victory, the Hornets couldn’t manage to knock off the hometown Nuggets, as they fell, 95-92, on Sunday, Jan. 10, in Denver. Similarly to their game against the Los Angeles Clippers the day before, the Hornets fell behind early again in the first before putting together a great second quarter but were eventually done in by an inconsistent offense throughout most of the second half. Jeremy Lamb and Cody Zeller each finished with a team-high 15 points for the Hornets while Danilo Gallinari set the tone for Denver by notching a game-high 27 points in the win.
Turning Points Up by one with 10:03 remaining in the fourth, the Nuggets reeled off an 11-2 run over the span of about four minutes to open up a 92-82 lead over the visiting Hornets. Denver maintained its double-digit advantage until the 2:08 mark of the frame when the Hornets started piecing together a comeback by going on an 7-0 stretch that cut the Nuggets lead down to 95-92 with 45 seconds remaining. Following a Charlotte timeout after an empty possession by Denver, both Kemba Walker and Nicolas Batum managed to get off three-point attempts in the closing seconds but neither one was able to drop as the Hornets extended their losing streak to a season-high seven games.
Inside the Box Score Cody Zeller finished with a team-high-tying 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting and six rebounds for the Hornets… Jeremy Lamb put together another strong performance off the Charlotte bench, notching 15 points and team highs in both rebounds (eight) and steals (three)… Frank Kaminsky tacked on 14 points, five rebounds and two assists… Kemba Walker and Marvin Williams each tallied 11 points… Nicolas Batum returned from a four-game absence to finish with nine points, six rebounds and a team-high seven assists… Danilo Gallinari led the Nuggets with a game-high 27 points while also pulling down six rebounds… Gary Harris chipped in 12 points, three rebounds and a team-high-tying two steals… Emmanuel Mudiay tacked on 11 points, four rebounds and six assists… Will Barton also scored in double figures with 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds… Nikola Jokic added four points, seven rebounds and also dished out a game-high and career-high nine assists… Charlotte shot 12-of-36 from behind the arc (33.3 percent) while the Nuggets knocked down 12-of-27 attempts from long distance (44.4 percent)… Denver just edged out the Hornets on the boards, 44-40… Both teams shot well from the line as Charlotte drained 20-of-24 free-throw attempts (83.3 percent) while the Nuggets hit 19-of-23 (82.6 percent).
Hornets Player of the Game Jeremy Lamb put together his second stellar performance in as many days, finishing with a team-high-tying 15 points and leading the Hornets outright in both rebounds (eight) and steals (three). Lamb is the first Hornets reserve to tally at least 15 points, eight rebounds and three steals in a game since Kenny Gattison did so against the Philadelphia 76ers on Apr. 9, 1994.
Nuggets Player of the Game Danilo Gallinari an impressive night for the hometown Nuggets as he finished with a game-high 27 points and six rebounds in the Denver win. In five games through the month of January, Gallinari is now averaging 25.8 points on 46.3 percent shooting along with 6.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists for the Nuggets.
Game Notes Denver snapped a four-game losing streak to Charlotte with the victory… Jameer Nelson (hip) and Kenneth Faried (personal) did not play for the Nuggets… Charlotte’s Spencer Hawes and Denver’s Jusuf Nurkic were both assessed technical fouls during the game… These teams will meet again in Charlotte on Mar. 19.
Next Up: The Hornets head home to take on the Atlanta Hawks at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 13 in Charlotte. The game can be seen on FOX Sports Southeast or heard on WFNZ or on the official Charlotte Hornets mobile app.
