More Coverage: Game Action Gallery | Head Coach James Borrego Postgame | Devonte’ Graham Postgame | Terry Rozier Postgame
Devonte’ Graham did everything he could to try to help will a short-handed Hornets squad to victory on Sunday against the Phoenix Suns at Spectrum Center as the Hornets defense buckled down and Graham stepped up.
Graham finished with a season-high 30 points, including seven three-pointers, had his own personal nine-point run to force OT, but Charlotte was unable to stop the Suns in the extra session, falling 101-97. The loss ends the Hornets three-game winning streak overall and five-game winning streak at home.
“I thought Tae was fantastic tonight,” Head Coach James Borrego said of Graham. “Since (La)Melo (Ball) went out (with his wrist injury), he’s been fantastic. He’s a starter in this league and isn’t phased by the moment… he’s really stepped up.”
Terry Rozier followed Graham with 22 points and recorded his second-straight double-double, grabbing 10 rebounds. Miles Bridges led Charlotte off the bench with Malik Monk out with right foot soreness, tallying a double-double of his own with 18 points and 12 rebounds.
Trailing 90-82 with 3:20 left in regulation, the Hornets appeared to be running out of time, but as Coach Borrego said postgame, “We’ve been here before.”
The Hornets entered the game 15-5 in clutch games and were fully locked in on No. 16 in the game’s waning moments, using a familiar formula - buckling down on defense and needing someone to step up in the clutch. Charlotte held Phoenix to 0-of-9 shooting in the last three minutes, giving Graham the opportunity for some late-game heroics. Graham first converted on a drive to the bucket before hitting back-to-back threes to tie the game 90-90. Graham even had a chance to win it in regulation for the Hornets, but his game-winning attempt bounced off the rim three times before missing.
“I think this team is showing that it doesn’t matter who we step on the floor with,” Borrego said. “We’re going to compete and we’re going to fight. We’ve done that all season… We’re not giving in. We’re not backing down.”
The fight continue in the extra session as Charlotte found itself down 97-92 in OT with 1:23 remaining, as Graham again connected on a clutch trey to cut the lead to 97-95 with 45.8 left. Two Devin Booker free thrpws and two more freebies from Graham later, the Hornets were facing a 99-97 deficit with 8.3 ticks and Phoenix maintaining possession.
Jae Crowder threw a horrible inbounds pass into Dario Saric that Graham was able to get his hands on and deflect ahead towards Rozier, but the ball was batted around between Rozier, Crowder and Chris Paul, who eventually came away with the ball, forcing the Hornets to foul him with 3.2 seconds remaining. Paul stepped to the line and iced game to earn the Suns win.
Booker led all scorers with 35 points on 10-of-26 shooting, while Deandre Ayton notched a double-double with a game-high 14 rebounds, including seven offensive boards. The Suns 21 offensive rebounds led to a significant 32-16 advantage in second-chance points for the road team.
The Hornets will now head on the road for six-straight games on the East Coast, starting with a 7 p.m. tip on Tuesday in Washington. Catch all the action on FOX Sports Southeast, listen on WFNZ and tap into our Gameday Hub on the Hornets App.
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March 29, 2021 at 03:37AM
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