By Sam Perley, hornets.com
Result After falling into an early double-digit hole, the Hornets fought back with authority against the hometown Grizzlies, notching a dominant 123-99 win on Friday, Dec. 11, in Memphis, for their fourth-consecutive victory. The difference maker was once again Charlotte’s three-point shooting as the Hornets connected on a staggering 18-of-37 three-point attempts, establishing a new franchise record. Kemba Waker led the way for Charlotte with a game-high 33 points while Marc Gasol finished with team-high 17 points for Memphis in the loss.
Turning Points After trailing 22-8 midway through the first quarter, the Hornets unleashed a 51-32 run to take a five-point lead over the Grizzlies entering halftime. Charlotte did much of its damage during this stretch from the free-throw line as the Grizzlies committed their fifth foul with just under nine minutes remaining in the second quarter, putting the Hornets in the bonus all the way to the break. Charlotte ended up connecting on 19-of-20 attempts (95.0 percent) from the charity stripe in the first half, which included a perfect 8-of-8 from Spencer Hawes and 5-of-5 from Jeremy Lin. Any hope the Grizzlies had of putting together their own comeback in the second half ended quickly in the third quarter as they were outscored by the Hornets, 34-19, which put the game well out of reach for Memphis.
Inside the Box Score Kemba Walker led the Hornets in both points (33) and assists (six)… Nicolas Batum was impressive once again, tallying 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting (5-of-8 from three-point range), four rebounds and two assists… Jeremy Lin came off the bench to finish with 16 points (15 in the first half), four rebounds, two assists and a team-high three blocks… Frank Kaminsky tacked on 15 points, a team-high-tying six rebounds and three assists… Jeremy Lamb also scored in double figures, finishing with 10 points and four rebounds off the bench… Marvin Williams chipped in seven points and a team-high-tying six rebounds… Spencer Hawes shot a career-high-tying 8-of-8 from the free-throw line… Marc Gasol finished just shy of a double-double, recording Memphis team highs in points (17), rebounds (nine) and assists (five)… Mike Conley tallied 16 points, three rebounds, four assists and two blocks… Zach Randolph (13), Courtney Lee (12), Matt Barnes (11) and Tony Allen (10) also finished with double-digit scoring performances for the Grizzlies… The Hornets’ bench outscored the Memphis bench, 59-37… Charlotte shot 50.0 percent from the field (39-of-78) while Memphis connected on 40.0 percent of its field-goal attempts (32-of-80)… The Hornets were nearly perfect from the free-throw line, draining a season-high-tying 27-of-30 attempts (90.0 percent) while Memphis was successful on 28-of-37 free-throw attempts (75.7 percent)… Charlotte edged out the Grizzlies in the rebounding battle, 41-40… Both teams finished with exactly 24 personal fouls.
Hornets Player of the Game Kemba Walker was unstoppable for the Hornets tonight, finishing with 33 points on 12-of-19 shooting (season-high 5-of-8 from three-point range) to go along with five rebounds and a team-high six assists. Walker, who finished with his second-highest scoring performance of the season, has now scored 20-or-more points in a team-high six games this season for the Hornets.
Grizzlies Player of the Game Marc Gasol had a solid night for Memphis, leading the Grizzlies with team highs in points (17), rebounds (nine) and assists (five) in the loss. Gasol, who also drained a team-high 7-of-8 attempts from the free-throw line, is now averaging 20.3 points and 9.0 rebounds through six games in the month of December.
Game Notes Kemba Walker scored the 5,000th point of his NBA career in the third quarter, becoming just the eighth player in franchise history to reach this milestone… Charlotte snapped a four-game road losing streak in Memphis… Tyler Hansbrough and Marc Gasol were assessed a flagrant foul and technical foul, respectively, for an altercation in the second quarter… Matt Barnes also received a flagrant foul in the fourth quarter for hitting Frank Kaminsky with an inadvertent elbow.
Next Up The Hornets head back home to take on the Boston Celtics at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 12 in Charlotte. The game can be seen on FOX Sports Southeast or heard on WFNZ or on the official Charlotte Hornets mobile app.
