By Sam Perley, hornets.com
The Hornets made their first appearance of the year at Time Warner Cable Arena, playing host to the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night. Despite falling behind by double digits early, the Hornets came alive in the second half to pull out a 98-86 victory over Minnesota for their first preseason win of the year.
A slow start by the Hornets led to a 10-point Minnesota lead at the end of the first quarter although Charlotte was able to cut the deficit down to just 54-47 by halftime. A 10-2 run to open the second half helped the Hornets pull ahead of the Timberwolves, as they eventually finished off the third quarter with a 79-72 lead over Minnesota. Charlotte’s advantage would then reach as high as 16 points in the fourth as it ended up cruising to victory in front of the hometown fans.
Leading the way for the Hornets was second-year power forward Frank Kaminsky, who notched a team-high 17 points on 6-of-13 shooting while also tallying four rebounds and two blocks in 28 minutes off the bench. Kaminsky’s range was particularly on display tonight as he knocked down a game-high-tying 4-of-8 three-point attempts.
Kemba Walker racked up 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting, five rebounds and two assists in 24 minutes of action. Walker’s minutes have slowly increased as the preseason has unfolded with his play looking noticeably more in rhythm the more time he gets on the court.
Other noteworthy performances included Nicolas Batum, who tallied 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting to go along with six rebounds and game-high five assists. Marvin Williams went a perfect 9-of-9 from the free-throw line as he finished with 11 points and seven rebounds while Spencer Hawes chipped in six points, a game-high 11 rebounds, four assists and two blocks. Jeremy Lamb (16 points) and Ramon Sessions (10 points) also scored in double figures for the Hornets.
After a rough outing from behind the arc this past Saturday against Boston, the Hornets’ range was dramatically improved against Minnesota as they connected on 12-of-36 attempts from long distance (33.3 percent). Charlotte also outrebounded Minnesota, 51-50, and finished with 16 turnovers, four fewer than it had against the Celtics on Saturday.
The Hornets will be back on the road for their next preseason game as they’ll square off against the Bulls at 8 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 17 in Chicago.
