["The Veal"]

Hornets Cause Kings Heartbreak, Win By One

November 23rd, 2015

Well, you can't knock them for not trying. After spending all fourth quarter catching up, only to squander it in the last few minutes, the Kings didn't lie down and take it. Down eight with less than 90 seconds to go, all hope seemed lost. But then Omri Casspi, who played great off the bench, scoring 19, making five three's, drained one of them. A failed possession from Charlotte led to a fast break from Sacramento and a Rudy Gay slam. It was then three with under a minute to go. Then, in a shocking twist, Gay stole the inbounds pass. Fearful the rest of the team would pursue, he turned and faded, chucking up a bad shot, that somehow went in! It was now one. That's, unfortunately, where it would end. Two made free throws from Kemba Walker pushed it to three, and a poorly run final play led to a buzzer-beating...two from Gay. So close, yet so far.

For the bulk of the game, these two teams were evenly matched. And healthy, as this was the return of Willie Cauley-Stein. His return was disappointing however, only managing to score two points and gather five rebounds in 21 minutes played, after which he fouled out. Speaking of fouling out, Quincy Acy did it in eight. That's right, eight minutes. Don't even know how he managed, impressive really.

Those two quick departures forced the rest of the team to fill suit, with five players playing over 28 minutes, something coach Anderson has shied away from. Off the bench, as mentioned before, Casspi came to play, but Darren Collison did not, scoring just two points on 1-9 shooting. Looks like his aggressive play has vanished as quickly as it appeared. Rondo, who also had a rough shooting night, shooting 2-10, made up for it with six rebounds, 13 assists, and five steals. As expected though, both DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay led the team, the former getting 22 and 10, the latter 20 and 9.

Still though, the victor's was Charlotte, led by point guard Kemba Walker, who finished with 23 points and six assists. A handful of those going to all-star big man Al Jefferson, who finished with 14 points to go along with seven rebounds. Not very impressive stats, but in a low-scoring game such as this one, where the tally was 89-88, that's all you need. Hell, starters Nicolas Batum and Marvin Williams combined to shoot just 3-16 from the field, a poor number that was avenged with the two others' strong play.

Some of those missed shots coming from beyond the arc, where the Hornets only shot 11%, 2-19. The Kings, who have a commanding lead for opponent three-point percentage, continue that reign of terror tonight, also taking top spot for fewest points allowed per game. Really, when looking at the box score it's a shock Sacramento lost. They shot 43% compared to Charlotte's 35%, and shot a decent 31% from deep. The deciding factor? A glance at free throws will immediately show you. While Sacramento shot 76%, a respectable number, it was only off 17 shots. The Hornets? They shot 80% off 40. That's a point differential of 19 just from the free throw line alone, and that folks is how you win and lose a game.

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