South Charlotte Today

The Charlotte Hornets secured a 93-62 victory over the Chinese National Team on Sunday evening in Sacramento, marking their second win in the California Classic. This result puts the Hornets at a 2-0 record in the tournament.

The Chinese team, composed entirely of players from the Chinese Basketball Association and adhering to FIBA rules, presented a distinct challenge. The Hornets focused on running and spacing the floor, while China leveraged its size and physicality, particularly through their seven-foot players Hansen Yang and Jiahao Yu, to execute halfcourt sets.

China found themselves trailing by 22 points just eight minutes into the game. In response, they implemented a full-court press that ignited a 17-3 run, reducing their deficit to eight points. Despite this effort, China's shooting struggles (34.5%; 20-of-58) prevented them from overcoming their early setback.

The game saw both teams committing numerous fouls, with a combined total of 57 fouls over 40 minutes. However, Charlotte maintained better control of possession with only 10 turnovers compared to China’s 24, which resulted in 30 points for the Hornets.

Hornets forward Leaky Black commented on his team's performance: "I just feel like we’ve got a good group of guys that are willing to buy in. There’s a lot of defenders, a lot of dogs, a lot of people that don’t care about the box score, don’t care who scores. We’re all just buying in together and trying to get a win. When we’re all moving on a string with one beat like that, we look pretty good."

The Hornets will take a day off before aiming for an undefeated record when they face the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday at 10:00 PM ET on NBA TV.