CHARLOTTE, NC, NOV 1 (US): Charlotte Hornets signed free agent Kelly Uber Jr. this off-season to save energy from the bench and allow striker Gordon Hayward to rest a bit more so he can get through 82 games. season.
Oubre is running as planned so far with the Hornets rising, the AP reports.
Lamelo Ball scored 27 points, nine rebounds and seven assists and Uber ignited the Hornets with 13 of 26 points in the crucial fourth quarter with a 125-113 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday night.
It was fantastic,” said James Borrego, who won his 100th game as Hornets coach. “That’s why we brought him here. We believe in him. We think there is a key role for him in this team and tonight was a great example.”
Miles Bridges added 19 points and nine assists in his career, and PJ Washington scored 17 points and some big games to help Charlotte improve to 5-2.
He led the Hornets 89-88 to enter the fourth quarter when Oubre took over.
He made 10 fast points, including 2 3s and a dunk of offensive rebounds. The Hornets also helped ramp up their overall defensive effort with a steal near the top of the switch as the Charlotte Blazers set to 25 points in the fourth quarter.
Oubre had another 3 with two and a half minutes to play to stifle the Rally Blazers and push the lead into double digits. Washington concluded the win with a jumper who turned in the fairway to beat the shot clock and a block at the other end.
“He’s a team maker out there,” Hornets goalkeeper Terry Roosier said of Oubre. “He and Miles Bridges do the same. He just shows it there.”
The Hornets had 36 assists.
“This is pretty much the most fun I’ve ever had playing basketball,” Uber said. “We all have the same goal in mind. We want to eat each other and succeed for as long as we have, so since we have this mentality I think we will have more and more fun throughout the year.”
CJ McCollum scored 25 points for Portland, and Joseph Nurkic scored 13 points and 14 rebounds. The Blazers have won twice in a row.
Charlotte finished 20 out of 42 from a 3-point range after entering the game as the second-best 3-point shooting team in the league with a 40.2% lead.
“I thought we got caught up in their playing style,” said Blazers coach Chauncey Billups. “They kind of get up and down and play like you’re in the park and it’s easy to get caught like that because that’s fun. It’s fun to play that way. I thought we got caught there.”
The ball is advancing
The ball came out of a small slump by making 10 of 20 shots from the field, including four 3 shots. Ball was coming out of a tough two-game period where he was 1 of 10 from a 3-point range and was suspended on six points in Friday night’s loss to Miami Hit.
“It was a mature performance,” said Borrego. “He owned it from the Miami game. There are things we all have to correct from that game. We watched the movie and talked about it and that was a very mature response from him.”
Lillard struggles again
Damian Lillard, who knocked out a season-high 25 points by defeating the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night, scored 14 points and 12 assists for Portland. It was 5 out of 20 overall and 2 out of 14 out of a 3-point range.
Lillard only shoots 37.1% from the field and 26.2% from a 3-point range.
ROZIER’S RETURN
Rozier made the start after missing his last four matches with a right ankle sprain. He finished the team’s top scorer last season with 14 points from 4 out of 10 shootings and provided five assists in nearly 33 minutes of excitement.
“It was good to be there with my brothers,” Rozier said. “It felt like a long time had passed.”
It’s the first time the Hornets have been at full strength this season.
Hints
Trailblazers: Cody Zeller received a standing ovation from the crowd at Spectrum Center when he was introduced in the first quarter. Zeller spent eight seasons with the Hornets before signing with the Trail Blazers last season.
Hornets: This was the first game of the season that the Hornets weren’t behind by at least 10 points, even though they were close. Their biggest deficit was eight points.
the following
Trail Blazers: Host Cleveland Monday Night.
Hornets: In Philadelphia on Monday night.