Our first game in December was a big one in terms of Southeast division lead - in Miami. We walloped them 109-94 behind
Kenneth Faried's 35 points and 11 rebounds, and 11 bench points each from
Nerlens Noel and
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. Noel also added 5 rebounds and a steal.
20 points, a block, and a steal from
Kenneth Faried saw us see off Orlando 101-93 in Charlotte.
Gary Harris got his first start for us, but wasn't noteworthy, unlike
Monte Morris scoring 19 in as many minutes.
Nerlens Noel continued to be a bench boss with 13 points, a block, and a steal.
The fearsome trio of
Stephen Curry,
D'Angelo Russell, and
Draymond Green comes to down and I figure our win streak is at an end. But then
Andrew Wiggins has his finest game as a Hornet - 9 of 16 shooting for 22 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists, and we stampede 123-100.
Kenneth Faried adds 18 points, 9 rebounds, and a steal,
Monte Morris puts up 15 points and 10 assists, and
Kadeem Allen adds 13 points and 5 assists off the bench.
With .500 in the balance, we get ambushed by
Zach LaVine's ridiculous 22 FTAs - more than our entire team, and fall 98-105 to Da Bulls in Charlotte. I'm not expecting a win when we've got a back-to-back against
LeBron's Lakers and we don't, but keep it competitive in a 97-107 home loss.
Gary Harris has been injured again, so he's missed a couple games and will miss more. But we show incredible pluck anyway in shocking the Thunder in OKC - 112=106.
Kenneth Faried pours on 25 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 steals, abetted by
Andrew Wiggins (17 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, a steal) and benchmates
Nerlens Noel (15 points, 8 rebounds, a block) and
Kadeem Allen (13 points, 5 assists, a steal).
Trounced by the Rockets in Houston as expected, and then comes a home back-to-back. We top the Heat 126-111 on hella balanced scoring - all five starters with 11 more or more points, plus 17, 15, and 12 bench points by
Kadeem Allen,
Nerlens Noel, and
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist respectively. Game ball went to
Andrew Wiggins of the 18 points, 9 rebounds, block, and 2 steals. Heartbreaking 97-100 loss vs Portland the next night, wasting
Kadeem Allen's 20 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 2 steals off the bench.
That loss deflated us to a flat-out stink vs the Knicks. We shake it off and grind out a 95-90 win over the Raptors -
Andrew Wiggins a meh PotG with 17 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, and a block. Bench is led by
Nicolas Batum (12 points),
Caleb Martin (10 points, 6 rebounds), and
Malik Monk (10 points). Shockingly,
Nerlens Noel is a Coaches' DNP, which I don't understand at all.
You could have knocked me over with a breath of sweet air, so shocked was I when we actually split a back-to-back against the Bucks. The 109-92 home upset came via
Cody Zeller's 17 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and a block, and matching 13 second unit points from
Nerlens Noel and
Kadeem Allen. Really nice early Christmas present on December 23rd to take that scalp.
Kemba Walker comes home to Charlotte after Christmas and drops 35 points, 8 assists, 2 steals, and just 1 turnover on us, treating the home fans to the greatness they loved. But it's our team balance and swarming defense on everyone else that nets the 106-96 win. We hold the Celtics to just 39.8% shooting, and
Andrew Wiggins is Player of the Game with his 17 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and a block. Also starring:
Cody Zeller with 10 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 blocks, and
Monte Morris at least trying to keep pace with Kemba in scoring 22.
Golden State gets revenge in California, with
Draymond Green a surprising DNP-Coaches' Decision.
But then we end the calendar year with a headline-grabbing 116-110 upset of the Clippers in LA that I'm still slack-jawed over.
Monte Morris and
Kenneth Faried each score 23, with the Manimal adding 9 rebounds.
Kadeem Allen scored 15 to lead the second year. Master class by
Paul George, though, at 38 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 steals. Worth noting:
Kawhi was out with back spasms. DOESN'T MATTER - STILL WON!
As the page turns to 2020, here's how the East looks:
