Buzz Bulletin: Hornets Honor Dell Curry, Approach Post-Season With Momentum
Both Steph and Seth Curry were at the Hive to see their dad's jersey retired, but for the first time in years, the future looks brighter than the past for the Buzz.
It’s only March, but the Charlotte Hornets (36-34, 10th in the East) have just about clinched a post-season appearance.
They’re 7.5 games ahead of the 11th place Milwaukee Bucks (28-41), but only 2.5 games behind the 6th place Atlanta Hawks (38-31), and a 6th place finish would mean avoiding the Play-In Tournament. On the other end, the Hornets would need to lose all of the rest of their games and the Bucks would need to finish 8-5 to catch up (the Bucks do, in fact, own the head-to-head tiebreaker).
Neither situation seems likely.
The Hornets are 16-4 in their past 20 games, or .800. With that same level of performance in their final 12 games, that would mean a 9-3 finish; even without that level of production, the Bugs seem bound for their first season above .500 since 2022, and their fifth winning season since the beginning of the Uptown era.
With all of the momentum, and the hope-ium in the Hive turned up to 11, the organization came together Thursday night to honor the OG Hornet himself, the Sixth Man, Dell Curry. Curry is just the second player in franchise history to have his jersey retired, joining Bobby Phills, who was honored posthumously in 2000 following his tragic death in a car accident.
Curry’s children — including Stephen, who has missed almost 20 games this season with a knee injury, and Seth, who played for the Hornets last year — and grandchildren were in attendance as Dell’s banner was raised.
When asked before the game what the city of Charlotte and the Hornets organization have meant to him, Curry — who serves as a Hornets’ team ambassador as well as their color commentator alongside Eric Collins — had this to say:
“It’s the people, first and foremost. It’s always felt like a family in the Charlotte community, and definitely in this organization. We’ve had a lot of owners, but this group has really wrapped their arms around me as a legend, and Muggsy and everybody else, all the other players and employees that are still with this organization. I’ve been in this city since 1988, so I’ve got a ton of friends and family who live here. From the workers, the staff, the people in this building, people at the old ‘hive’, again, it’s just a family feeling from my time back then and all the way up until now that makes me really proud to still be a part of this organization.”
Multiple Double-Doubles Drown Miami
LaMelo Ball scores 30 points as the Hornets prevailed 106-136
By Sam Spencer
The Miami Heat (38-32, 8th in the East) didn’t have hot hands at the Spectrum Center on Tuesday night, and after his sensational 83-point-game the week before, Bam Adebayo was out with an injury to his right calf.
While the Heat took the season series over the Charlotte Hornets 3-1, the Hornets were the (much) better team for their final regular season meeting.
LaMelo Ball had 30 points and 12 assists, while Miles Bridges had 14 points and 10 rebounds in the dominant, 30-point win.
Ball started early in the 1st quarter, and Hornets went into Miami’s first timeout up 8-12, with half of those from Ball. The Heat’s shots weren’t falling, but Charlotte was getting the second chance points; Bridges and Moussa Diabaté both had 5 boards in the first six minutes, with Diabate earning 13 total rebounds over the course of the game.
Miami adjusted quickly, tying the score at 14 within two minutes and forcing a Charlotte time out.
When Charlotte took the court next, Brandon Miller responded as he has many times this season by making a trey from downtown. Miami couldn’t get a three-pointer to fall in the first 10 minutes, missing their first 7. However, much of the rest of the half from the Bugs was sloppy, and the 1st quarter ended 24-26 in favor of the home team, with both teams sharing a 38.5% field goal percentage.
The 2nd quarter started off with a “Knueppel triple” – it’s clear Hornets’ PA announcer Shawn Parker has been working on that one – but the rookie wasn’t afraid to diversify his selection, shooting from both inside and outside the paint, and earning three point plays the old-fashioned way. Kon Knueppel had 22 points despite getting in foul trouble (5 personal fouls).
The lead went back and forth for the rest of the half, with both teams improving their shooting as the starters came back on the court. Ball shot confidently from three – regardless of the outcome – and led the Hornets in the first half with 16 points.
A 2nd quarter standout for the team was recent addition Coby White, who ended the half with 11 points, but came out with four minutes left after committing his third personal foul.
Ball picked up where White left off, putting the Hornets back ahead with a quick layup, but the lead continued to change hands.
Ball’s skill as a playmaker was also on display, with a smooth alley-oop to Diabate putting the Hornets ahead again, 52-54, in the closing minutes of the half.
Charlotte came out of the locker room hot, going on a 7-0 run and forcing a Miami timeout before many halftime concessions customers had made it back to their seats.
The crowd started to react poorly to the officiating, especially a foul called against Sion James, as Miami tightened the score with six minutes to go in the quarter.
The Hornets started to pull away in the closing minutes of the quarter thanks to two consecutive, silky three-pointers from Ball and White, but Miami immediately responded with two of their own, making it a one possession game yet again.
Then Coby White lit the building on fire, scoring 8 consecutive points and forcing a Miami timeout with an effortless, pull-up jumping three from 25 feet.
Charlotte remained in control for the rest of the quarter, leading 88-96 going into the final twelve minutes.
The first couple of minutes didn’t improve Miami’s situation, and a string of turnovers – coupled with a highlight reel-worthy play from Ball – led to the Heat using all but one of their timeouts with more than nine minutes to go.
The Hornets would then go on a 14-0 run.
Brandon Miller sank two consecutive threes to expand the lead to 19, and Knueppel drew a foul on his three-point attempt to widen the gap, making all three. Knueppel added a three of his own during Miami’s cold streak, Diabaté made a play off his own rebound … it was a dominant performance all around.
Hornets fans started to leave the Spectrum Center early, long before the third string players came on.
These days, they get to do so knowing their team won.
Keys to the Game
While Charlotte was up a comfortable 8 points going into the 4th quarter, that’s not much of a lead in the high-scoring, fast paced NBA of today. However, outscoring your opponent 18-40 in one quarter is usually going to do the trick.
By missing every three-pointer in the final quarter, Miami only shot 19% from three over the course of the game. Charlotte shot 40% from three, and also bested Miami in overall field goals (40% to 53%).
Buzz Bright Spots
With the team honoring Dell Curry this week, it’s worth mentioning that Coby White is already making a difference not unlike Curry during the 1993-94 Hornets season, when #30 won the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award as an impact player off the bench.
White had 24 points in only 20 minutes of play.
Also, there was this LaMelo Ball play …
Buzzworthy Facts
With a much easier basket during the 3rd quarter, LaMelo reached 6,000 career points during the game.
Hornets Manage Magic on Dell Curry Night
Charlotte takes season series against Orlando three games to one, honors former Hornets great
By Adrian Singerman
It was Hornets legend Dell Curry’s night, but that didn’t stop the new generation from showing up.
On the night they retired the jersey of perhaps the greatest shooter in franchise history, the Charlotte Hornets put on a scintillating shooting display Thursday evening to take a one-sided 111-130 victory against divisional rival Orlando Magic (38-31, 7th in the East).
Charlotte put together a dominant two-quarter stretch spanning both halves, outscoring Orlando 76-45 across the second and third quarters to put the game away well before its conclusion. Coby White led the way with an efficient 27-point performance in 23 minutes off the bench, Brandon Miller scored 15 of his 25 points in the third quarter, and LaMelo Ball added 20 points for Charlotte. Desmond Bane paced the Magic with 24 points, and Paolo Banchero tallied 20 points and seven assists.
The Magic got off to a hot start, making 6 of their first 7 shots and jumping out to a 19-11 lead, an advantage they maintained for much of the first quarter. Down 30-22, the Hornets responded with a 12-2 run to close out the quarter and take a 34-32 lead into the second, a lead they never relinquished.
The Buzz then proceeded to make 16 threes across the dominant second and third quarters, turning a close game into a rout. With the game firmly in hand heading into the final frame, Charlotte took its foot off the gas, allowing Orlando to make the final score more respectable.
Keys to the Game
With the Orlando offense humming and LaMelo Ball on the bench with two early fouls in the first quarter, Charlotte found themselves down 30-22 and struggling to keep pace with the Magic. Enter Coby White. The newest Hornet provided an immediate spark with seven quick points and a beautiful dish to Ryan Kalkbrenner for an and-one to tie the game at 32. Charlotte never trailed again.
With the Hornets up 42-37 just over four minutes into the second quarter, a 4-point play by Knueppel put the Hornets up nine, their largest lead of the game up to that point. On the very next play, Knueppel grabbed a rebound off a Magic miss and whipped a pass from beyond half court to the left side corner to a wide open Sion James, who calmly sank a three to extend Charlotte’s lead to 12 and force a timeout by Orlando.
As things continued to unravel for the Magic, head coach Jamahl Mosley was hit with two consecutive technical fouls during a stoppage in play at the 5:14 mark of the second quarter, resulting in his ejection.
The Hornets nearly notched another 50-40-90 game as a team, shooting 53% overall, 48% from three (22/46), and 89% from the line (24/27).
Buzz Bright Spots
At halftime, the Hornets honored Curry, the first player ever selected by the organization in the 1988 expansion draft, by retiring his jersey.
After the game, head coach Charles Lee chimed in on what it was like to get the win on DC30: “It was amazing. Perfect ending to a great day to celebrate a great man that’s done so much for us. We love that he was able to come into the locker room and break it down for us. I think the guys enjoyed his speech postgame way better than mine.”
Buzzworthy Facts
In his 10 years with the team, Curry racked up 9,839 points, good for second in franchise history behind all-time leader Kemba Walker, who amassed 12,009 points in his eight years with the club. He also ranks first in franchise history in seasons (10) and games played (701).
For the second straight game, White posted a personal high in points as a member of the Hornets. He followed his 24-point performance against Miami Tuesday night with 27 points against the Magic.
The only bad news for White was when Knueppel told him during the game that White’s alma mater, Carolina, had been unceremoniously knocked out of the NCAA Tournament by VCU.
“As soon as I stepped out in the 4th quarter, Kon (Knueppel) could not wait to tell me,” White said in a postgame interview. “He was like, 'Man, you had a great day... not such a great day for your Tar Heels, though.”
What’s Next
The Buzz close out the month of March with the final five home games of their season-long seven-game home stand, starting with an inter-conference tilt against the struggling Memphis Grizzlies this Saturday evening. Tipoff is scheduled for just after 7 p.m.
Charlotte remains comfortably in position to make the play-in as the 10 seed with a seven and a half-game cushion over the eleventh place Milwaukee Bucks. Sitting only two and a half games back of 7th place Orlando and 6th place Atlanta, a strong finish could see the Hornets earn a home game in the 7th/8th place matchup or even direct entry into the playoffs as the 6th seed.
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