Miles Bridges scored 20 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists as the Charlotte Hornets defeated the Indiana Pacers 111-102 on Monday night, improving to 2-0 since the addition of five new players via trade.
Newcomers Grant Williams, Seth Curry, Tre Mann, and Vasilije Micic provided an offensive spark for the Hornets, who finished with 27 assists. Williams led the squad with 21 points, while Curry scored 18 off the bench. Mann received the start and finished with 11 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists.
Micic provided a calming influence on offense and fueled Charlotte’s strong ball movement.
“We’re more experienced and much deeper, which, to be honest, is a big thing,” Hornets coach Steve Clifford said.
The arrival of Williams has allowed the Hornets to play five out, creating driving lanes for Bridges, Mann, and Micic.
The Hornets were plus-14 with Williams on the court for 31 minutes.
“Miles made a great drive in the fourth quarter and a lot of that is just because Grant’s at the five,” Clifford went on to say. “You have so much more space on the floor. Miles made an excellent move, but if you have a typical center in there, he’ll probably be unable to get all the way to the hoop.”
Myles Turner had 22 points and Aaron Nesmith had 21 for the Pacers (30-25). Tyrese Haliburton had 13 points and 12 rebounds in 34 minutes of play in the loss, his highest since returning from a hamstring ailment.
The Indiana locker room was unusually silent after the game, indicating that the club understood it had let one slip away against one of the league’s worst. Charlotte’s age is 12 and 41 years.
“As a group, we need to grow up,” Haliburton stated. “We need to evolve as a group and win these games. We have one more game before the All-Star break, and we need to approach it properly.”
Pacers coach Rick Carlisle was dissatisfied with his team’s strategy or the rebounding differential (46-32 in favor of Charlotte).
“We talked a lot about their trades, and how they played two nights ago,” Carlisle said, referring to Chicago’s 115-106 victory against Memphis. “They’re clearly a team that’s energized, and we needed to match that, and we didn’t.”
Definitely not in the fourth quarter.
Charlotte limited the NBA’s highest-scoring team to 22 points in the final 12 minutes, securing back-to-back victories for only the second time this season.
The Hornets, who have been plagued by injuries this season, have gained new legs with the trade.
Williams has offered a significant lift off the bench and muscular presence, while Mann and Micic have used their agility off the dribble to generate opportunities for their teammates.
Mann is now getting his chance to play after spending most of his time on the bench in Oklahoma City, watching and learning from more experienced players.
“There is a lot less pressure knowing I can play through mistakes,” Mann told the media.
The Hornets led 81-80 entering the fourth quarter, thanks to Curry, who swung the tide with a three-pointer and a score on a drive through traffic late in the third.
Charlotte kept pushing in the fourth quarter, and Brandon Miller’s pull-up foul-line jumper gave the Hornets a 103-95 advantage with 2:47 left. On Charlotte’s following possession, Bridges added a hammer slam over Turner, bringing the audience to their feet.
Williams made four free throws in the last minute to help seal the win.
Charlotte shot 53.7% from the field, with its bench outscoring the Pacers 44-18.
