Pacers dominate Hornets, despite Terry Rozier’s third straight big scoring game
.JPG "Indiana Pacers forward T.J. Warren, left, shoots a scoop shot as he drives past Charlotte Hornets forward Cody Zeller in the first half of an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Monday, Jan. 6, 2020. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)")
Terry Rozier continues on a torrid scoring run. Not much else good happened to the Charlotte Hornets after halftime Monday.
Guard Rozier had his third consecutive game of 28 or more points, reaching 28 in a 115-104 home loss to the Indiana Pacers at Spectrum Center. Former N.C. State star T.J. Warren led the Pacers with 36 points.
The loss broke a two-game winning streak for the Hornets, following victories in Cleveland and Dallas. The Hornets fell to 15-24, while the Pacers improved to 23-14.
Rozier, in his first season with the Hornets after four with the Boston Celtics, has had six games of 26 or more points in his last nine.
Nice buzz
An efficient offensive performance for Miles Bridges (18 points), who made his first four shots and had six rebounds and four assists in the first three quarters. Bridges had been in a shooting slump, going 6-of-21 from the field in the two-game road trip to Cleveland and Dallas.
Bee stings
All turnovers are bad, but some are a lot worse than others. The Hornets kept making reckless passes, committing live-ball turnovers that were particularly costly — their first 10 turnovers resulted in 14 Indiana points. Anything more than an opponent point-per-turnover is unacceptable.
Building blocks
Marvin Williams missed Monday’s game while getting a procedure on his nasal fracture. That meant using Bridges more at power forward, and the tumble-down effect was rookie Cody Martin getting back into the rotation.
Martin, the Hornets’ second-round pick, has played well much of the past month, but his minutes were limited on the road trip by coach James Borrego getting Dwayne Bacon back into the rotation.
Beyond the numbers
Cody Zeller never complained when Hornets coach James Borrego chose to leave Bismack Biyombo in the starting lineup at center. Zeller hadn’t done anything wrong, Borrego was playing a hunch that Biyombo could add some energy and physicality at a time when the Hornets needed a jolt.
It has worked worked in a tag-team fashion; it’s fluid game-to-game who will play more. Monday, Zeller was hot from the start, making his first four shots from the field. He had 10 points in the first quarter and ended up the only double-figure scorer from either team in the first half.
This story was originally published January 6, 2020 at 9:16 PM with the headline "Pacers dominate Hornets, despite Terry Rozier’s third straight big scoring game."
