Recap: Hornets go cold in the fourth, lose to Pelicans, 112-110

Terry Rozier scored a career high 43 points, but the Charlotte Hornets couldn't get enough offense from other places as they dropped a key game to the New Orleans Pelicans, 112-110.

The Hornet were frigid to start the game. They made three of their first 17 shot attempts and only scored 7 points in the first half of the first quarter. The Hornets eventually found their way, and Cody Zeller's quick nine points helped them cut into the deficit. A Nickeil Alexander-Walker bomb at the buzzer gave the Pelicans a nine pointer after one.

Terry Rozier caught fire in the second quarter and helped the Hornets turn that nine point deficit into a ten point lead. He scored 18 in the frame with most of them coming in a short flurry in the middle parts of the quarter. LaMelo Ball added a couple tough layups as the Hornets led by as many as 14, but a James Johnson bank shot for three and a reckless Bismack Biyombo inbounds pass leading to a foul set the halftime score at 67-57 in favor of the Hornets.

Rozier hit another three early in the third, but the Pelicans responded with eight straight points to cut the Hornets lead to two and force a James Borrego timeout. The Hornets started to rebuild their lead, but a flurry of turnovers helped the Pelicans stick around. Rozier splashed a three in Eric Bledsoe's face in the final seconds of the third to put the Hornets back up seven heading into the fourth quarter.

The Hornets again went cold to start the fourth. They made just one field goal in the first seven minutes of the fourth as they let the Pelicans retake the lead, and it didn't really get much better from there. The Hornets did a very poor job moving the ball and generating offense as they scored just 14 points all quarter long. Jackson Hayes stole a late inbounds pass and dropped in a contested floater to all but put the game away. A Terry Rozier three at the buzzer gave him a new career high and provided some window dressing for the final score.

LaMelo Ball put in another strong performance despite seemingly aggravating his wrist attempting to block a shot in the third quarter. He finished with 22 points, five rebounds, and four assists.

Hornets other than Rozier and Ball scored 45 points on 16-of-50 shooting from the field and 4-of-21 shooting from three while committing nine turnovers. That's not going to cut it.

The Hornets have four tough games to close out the schedule, starting with a home matchup against the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday.