Charlotte Hornets defend their hive on the road against the Washington Wizards.
Nearly 24 hours after a “team effort” against the Cleveland Cavaliers Thursday night at Quicken Loans Arena, the Washington Wizards found themselves in the same position they were in on January 17th when they faced the Charlotte Hornets. The outcome of that game was a 133-109 defeat in which Hornets’ forward Michael Kidd Gilchrist scored 21 points and Dwight Howard had a double double.
This time around, the results were nearly similar with the Charlotte Hornets dominating the Washington Wizards 122-105. Frank Kaminsky led the Hornets in scoring with 25 points off of the bench, followed by Kemba Walker who added an additional 24 points.
For the Wizards, Bradley Beal’s offensive dominance continued in the absence of John Wall with 33 points and he shot 50% from beyond the arc. His offensive production was assisted by Otto Porter Jr, who dished out 16 points and “Knockout,” Kelly Oubre Jr., who provided that fire off of the bench in the first half with 11 points.
But again, it was not enough to beat this Charlotte Hornets team that seems to have the formula figured out for this Wizards team.
This matchup is the Wizards’ first back to back game since the All Star Break but following the loss, Bradley Beal didn’t use that as an excuse for his team. Instead, he spoke on the team turning the ball over and the Hornets’ execution on both sides of the ball.
After tonight, it’s quite obvious that this team is in need of star guard John Wall despite their previous 7-2 record success without him and hopefully he will return in their season series finale against Charlotte on March 31st.
Looking forward, the Wizards face the young and emerging Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday at home. Their regular season series is tied and it’ll be all eyes on Ben Simmons who dropped 31 points on the Wizards in their second matchup. There will also be eyes on the familiar Ramon Sessions, who was acquired by the Wizards on Thursday signing a 10-day contract. Maybe that acquisition will be the perfect fit at the perfect time for this team who is having trouble finding their identity.
