Jacob Gallagher Chief Revenue Officer | Carolina Hornets Website
Jacob Gallagher Chief Revenue Officer | Carolina Hornets Website
The Charlotte Hornets secured an 80-66 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday, July 16, at COX Pavilion in Las Vegas, NV. This win extends their Summer League winning streak to five games, including a 3-0 record from the California Classic.
Key performers for the Hornets included Matt Morgan, who scored 15 points on 5-of-12 shooting and grabbed two rebounds in 24 minutes off the bench. Notably, eight of his points came in the fourth quarter with a perfect 3-of-3 shooting performance. Point guard Zavier Simpson contributed nine points, six rebounds, eight assists, and no turnovers.
The game saw Charlotte take control in the fourth quarter after Denver closed within six points at the 5:54 mark. Tidjane Salaün’s three-pointer from the left corner sparked a decisive 14-3 run for Charlotte.
Despite shooting only 27.7% in the first half (13-of-47), including just 6-of-27 from beyond the arc, Charlotte led at halftime by maintaining possession with only three turnovers and an 11-3 advantage in offensive rebounds.
Rookie Tidjane Salaün filled Brandon Miller's starting spot and finished with ten points on 4-of-8 shooting and ten rebounds in nineteen minutes. Head Coach Josh Longstaff noted Salaün’s ability to settle into his role despite initial challenges.
“We want to be obsessed with daily improvement and these guys are improving every day,” said Longstaff. “We want to be relentless competitors... I thought we handled the end-of-game situation today better than we did against New York [on Saturday].”
The Hornets will face the Boston Celtics next at COX Pavilion on Wednesday afternoon at 5:30 PM ET. The game will be broadcasted on NBA TV and Bally Sports Southeast.
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