By Matt Rochinski, hornets.com
more on: charlotte hornets
photo gallery See what you’ve missed from the:
The Result Nic Batum notched a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Jeremy Lin added 18 points of his own as the Hornets closed their Oct. 21 matchup in Detroit on an 18-6 run to take a 99-94 victory and remain undefeated in the preseason. Al Jefferson scored eight points in the decisive run and finished with 17 points and six rebounds in the win.
Turning Points Following the Hornets 94-86 win over Chicago on Oct. 19, Head Coach Steve Clifford downplayed Charlotte’s 6-0 preseason start but stated, “The one thing I do like is that when we’ve been challenged, there has been a positive response.” The Hornets responded again in Detroit, shaking off an 88-81 deficit to rally for the victory. Down eight with less than six minutes remaining, Charlotte’s starters checked back in the game to try to close the game out against Detroit’s starting unit and answered the challenge. Al Jefferson led the way, scoring six-consecutive points on two field goals and two free throws, cutting the Pistons lead to 90-87. Marvin Williams and Nic Batum followed with two free throws apiece and a 3-pointer from Troy Daniels, who was playing with the starting unit in place of Cody Zeller, bounced around the rim to give Charlotte its first lead since early in the third quarter, 94-92. Jeremy Lin dropped a floater in the lane on the Hornets next possession to give Charlotte a four-point cushion and the Hornets closed the game out at the free-throw line late to get their seventh-straight win of the preseason.
Inside the Box Score Nic Batum scored a preseason-high 18 points and notched his second double-double of the preseason, hauling down a team-high 10 rebounds. Batum had 14 points and 10 board on Oct. 14 in Shanghai against the Los Angeles Clippers… Jeremy Lin finished with a team-high-tying 18 points and has now scored in double digits in all six games he has played in the preseason… Al Jefferson tied his preseason high with 17 points to go with six rebounds, one steal and one block. Big Al has averaged 13.8 points in his last four preseason games… Troy Daniels came off the bench to score a preseason-high 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting, including two big 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to help the Hornets to the win… Charlotte’s efforts from the charity stripe (30-of-32, 93.8 percent) and long range (9-of-25, 36.0 percent) were key to the win. Detroit finished 21-of-29 (72.4 percent) from the free-throw line and 5-of-29 (17.2 percent) outside the arc.
Hornets Player of the Game Nic Batum continues to showcase the skill set that Hornets General Manager Rich Cho raved about when Charlotte acquired him in an offseason trade with Portland. Batum scored a team-high-tying 18 points and cleaned a team-high 10 rebounds off the glass for his second double-double of the preseason and added a team-high six assists in the win. Pistons Player of the Game Andre Drummond impressed inside for Detroit, finishing with game highs in points (21), rebounds (15) and blocked shots (2). He was 10-of-14 from the field but went just 1-of-6 from the charity stripe.
Game Notes The Hornets improved to a Charlotte-franchise-best 7-0 in the preseason… Kemba Walker (heel) missed his first preseason game, while Jeremy Lamb (ankle) also sat out the contest… The Hornets entered the game shooting 37.7 percent from the 3-point line in the preseason (third in the NBA) and connected on 36.0 percent against the Pistons… Charlotte also started the game allowing the second-fewest points per game (86.8) in the preseason… Six Hornets – Nic Batum (10), Marvin Williams (7), Al Jefferson (6), Spencer Hawes (6), Cody Zeller (5) and Jeremy Lin (5) – finished with five-or-more rebounds.
Next Up The Hornets travel to Fort Wayne, IN to take on the Pacers in their preseason finale at 7 p.m. on Thursday night. Listen to the game on WFNZ or the Official Hornets App.
