Hornets vs. Timberwolves Recap: The good, the bad and the LaMelo Ball
Terry Rozier scored 41 points, including 16 in the fourth quarter, to power the Hornets to a 120-114 win over Minnesota on Friday.
Held out of the arena until less than two hours before tip due to contact tracing and down to just nine available players, the Hornets overcame the circumstances on Friday, albeit against one of the worst teams in the league.
The Timberwolves certainly made Charlotte work for it as the hosts lead never eclipsed six points until the final minute. The two sides swapped leads 13 times over the course of the night but the Timberwolves led just twice in the fourth quarter.
Rozier ensured the Hornets did not drop a second straight with his second-straight 30-point game, the first time in his career he has scored at least 30 points in consecutive games. LaMelo Ball added 20 points and 11 rebounds and Cody Zeller had 17.
The Good: The resilience
In lieu of making this section about Rozier for a second consecutive night - and he certainly deserves it after scoring 41 points - the performance was an impressive one for the Hornets considering the circumstances. Due to contact tracing and testing, the Hornets did not get into the arena until roughly 90 minutes before the game and did not have shootaround in the morning. The first on-court action of the day for Charlotte came just barely an hour before the game. As a result, the game wasn't pretty but the Hornets grinded through it, largely thanks to Rozier, and pulled out a tough win with just nine available players and eight seeing the court. Honorable Mentions: Terry Rozier, obviously
The Bad: Minnesota's defense
There's any number of aspects of Minnesota's defense that could be picked out for its putridness. While the Hornets only scored 13 fast break points, they came in the easiest of fashion as the Timberwolves repeatedly allowed open lanes to the basket. Likewise, Charlotte came into the night a middle-of-the-road team in offensive rebounding but pulled down 12 on Friday. Honorable Mentions: Near COVID outbreaks
The LaMelo Ball: Another 20/10 game
For the third time this season, Ball record a 20/10 game, the most by a Hornets rookie guard all-time. However, the difference between the two previous games and Friday was that Ball pulled down 11 rebounds versus handing out 10-plus assists. Ball did much of his damage before the fourth quarter, including a stretch during the second quarter when he and No. 1 pick Anthony Edwards had a fun sequence of trading baskets and assists. On the night, Ball finished with 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting overall and 2-of-8 shooting from 3-point range. He added the 11 rebounds, four assists and three steals. The one negative late was foul trouble that briefly forced him to the bench in the fourth quarter.
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