Recap: Hornets block all the shots; defeat Pistons, 107-94

The Charlotte Hornets blocked a season league high 15 shots as they held off the Detroit Pistons for a 107-94 victory.

Both teams started out slowly. By the time we hit the 5-minute mark in the first quarter, the score was just 11-8 in favor of the Hornets. We did get this beauty of a pass from LaMelo Ball though.

The Hornets were able to scrap together enough offense without hitting an outside shot to take a 26-19 lead into the second quarter.

The Pistons used the first couple minutes of the second quarter to even the game back up, but the Hornets one upped them in spectacular fashion. They went on a 19-2 run that was capped off by three consecutive Miles Bridges dunks to open up a 55-36 lead. At the half, the Hornets led by 16.

The Hornets looked like they were going to run away with the game in the third quarter. A pair of LaMelo Ball free throws put the Hornets up 21 about halfway through the period. But the offensive woes of the Hornets cropped up once again. They scored only eight points the rest of the way, while the Pistons, led by Frank Jackson and Saddiq Bey, pulled as close as seven.

The lead dwindled as low as three when the aforementioned Frank Jackson canned a 3-pointer off a feed from the aforementioned Saddiq Bey, prompting a Hornets timeout. Whatever was said in the timeout clearly got the Hornets focused, as they reeled off 13 straight points, all coming from the hands of Miles Bridges and Terry Rozier. The Pistons were never able to get within seven after that, even with some more hot shooting from Bey. The last of those times came with about 90 seconds to play, but Rozier dashed their hopes with this dagger.

It was a terrific defensive performance for the Hornets, who blocked 15 shots, one shy of the franchise record. Bismack Biyombo blocked five of those, while six other Hornets shared the other ten. They contested every shot around the basket, and even blocked a couple of jump shots.

LaMelo Ball pretty much picked up where he left off. There was a little rust, as he took just scored just 11 points and turned the ball over five times, but he did throw eight dimes and did his usual work on the glass.

Miles Bridges kept up his strong play from April, finishing with 27 points, seven rebounds, and four assists. Terry Rozier got his groove back and scored 29 points, with 14 of those coming in the fourth quarter.

The Hornets will try to parlay this momentum into a win over the Miami Heat tomorrow night.