The Charlotte Hornets (5-5) took care of the Portland Trail Blazers (4-7) 106-94 on Sunday.
In a game that was seemingly over at halftime, the Trail Blazers gave the Hornets a late scare. Charlotte outscored Portland by 14 points in the final two quarters and even got the deficit down to six points with three minutes left before the Hornets pulled away late. The difference in this matchup was as simple as shooting, as the Blazers shot just 39 percent, while the Hornets shot just shy of 50 percent. The three-point shooting was bad all-around though, as the teams combined to shoot 14-for-52 from long distance. These are teams going in opposite directions right now and this result exemplifies that fact.
After a promising start to the season, the Blazers have now lost five-straight games. The losses can be attributed to the poor defense, as Portland have allowed at least 100 points in all five losses. They simply have to rely far too much on their guards to carry the offense and while they can score with anyone, they need some help. Damian Lillard had another good game here, as he tallied 23 points, eight rebounds and five assists in the defeat. C.J. McCollum struggled a bit with his shot, but still totaled 16 points on 5-of-18 shooing in the loss. This is a fun and exciting team to watch with their guard-play, but it's not a recipe for victories with minimal quality post play. Portland will have a quick turnaround as they play the San Antonio Spurs on Monday in the second half of a back-to-back.
The Hornets started off the season 0-3, but appear to be a far better team than that by winning five of their last seven since. The recent success correlates with Nicolas Batum's recent scoring surge, as he is averaging nearly 30 points a game over his last three games. On Sunday, he tallied 33 points, six assists and five rebounds in the win in another fantastic performance. Charlotte also got a great performance from Al Jefferson, who contributed 29 points, five rebounds and three assists in the victory. This is a very talented team and the more they play together, the better they'll be. The Hornets next matchup will be on Tuesday against the New York Knicks.
