Hornets v. Knicks game summary (1/28/20)

Inaugural game summary by Contributor David Houston!

I feel privileged and honored to be invited to post my game reviews here.

That start where they got the matching shot clock violations for Kobe Bryant was very touching and being the franchise (kinda/sorta) that drafted him, it had some extra meaning.

Thankfully, the Hornets followed it up with a nice win and did so in front of Charlotte's biggest celebrity at the moment, DaBaby.

They got off to a horrendously slow start (15 points in the first quarter to 26 by the Knickerbockers) but got their stuff together and won every quarter after that.

That dude Devante Graham couldn't throw it in the ocean from the beach last night (1-8, 0-6 from 2) but, like any smart point guard, he found the people that could and had 10 assists to only 3 turnovers in 35 mins. He found a way to contribute and stay on the floor.

Big game for Terry Rozier. Rozier had a double-double: 30 pts (9-17, 4-8 from 3, 8-8 from the line) and 10 rebounds.

His steadiness at the free throw line halted a last second push from the Knicks in the closing seconds.

Cody Zeller looked like the Zeller that opened the season with his aggression and he also had a double-double: 10pts, 10 rebs, a block and a steal.

They were going to need the bigs to show up with the Knicks relying on Julius Randle (24pts, 5 reb) and Marcus Morris (23 pts, 4 reb).

Good game on both ends from Miles Bridges (15pts, 4 rebs, a block) and a strong rebounding game (if weak on scoring) from PJ Washington Jr (8 rebs, a block, only 3pts).

An aggressive Malik Monk is generally a more effective one. Not a great shooting night (13pts on 4-12 shooting) but he got into the paint instead of just chucking up jumpers so he got some good foul calls and was perfect at the line (5-5).

Same with Willy Hernangomez. Showed why some fans were high on his being brought in last night with a double-double off the bench: 12pts and 10 rebounds with 2 steals.

The Bugs beat the Knicks at what was supposed to be the Knicks' strength: offensive rebounding. Hornets ended the game 16 to only 7 by the Knicks.

Got a little tense at the end because that boy Damyean Dotson suddenly got hot from 3 and the refs completely blew a call late where the replay I saw showed the Knick player on the line when he caught the ball but they didn't panic and executed down the stretch and broke an 8 game losing streak.