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0 The Charlotte Hornets ended their 10-game losing streak with a 115-106 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday night. This was the first win for the Hornets at home since January 19th. The Hornets had five newcomers in their rotation, including Vasilije Micic, who had career highs of 18 points and 9 assists in his debut game. Miles Bridges scored 25 points, while Brandon Miller added 18 points to the Hornets’ victory.
Micic, a 30-year-old from Serbia, has played mostly overseas, but he impressed the Hornets’ coach, Steve Clifford, with his awareness on the court. Clifford said that Micic knows where everybody is on the floor and is a terrific passer and a good pick-and-roll player. He also added that Micic has size, which other players may not have, and it makes him a valuable asset to the team.
The Hornets traded mainstays P.J. Washington to Dallas and Gordon Hayward to Oklahoma City on Thursday, which led to the inclusion of Micic, Tre Mann, Grant Williams, Davis Bertans, and Seth Curry in the Hornets’ rotation for the first time.
Despite having so many new players on the roster and little cohesiveness, the Hornets found their way with 30 assists. Bridges, who had back-to-back 40-plus point games earlier in the week, found his groove in the second half with 19 points. He came up with the big play, stealing a pass in the backcourt and finishing with a high-flying, emphatic one-handed jam to give Charlotte a 103-94 lead with about three minutes left.
Williams, who played high school ball in Charlotte along with Curry, provided some needed physicality finishing with 15 points and eight rebounds, while Mann had nine points and nine rebounds after getting the start.
Jaren Jackson Jr. had 29 points for the Grizzlies, who have lost eight straight and played without seven injured players. Memphis also was busy at the trade deadline, dealing Steven Adams, Xavier Tillman Sr., and David Roddy in separate trades, but their new players still on the roster, Lamar Stevens and Yuta Watanabe, didn’t play. Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said that he is excited to have Watanabe back, who is a utility player who can play the three and the four and is ultra-competitive.
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