CHARLOTTE, N.C. — You can’t blame them if it was a necessity to pull up the Spectrum Center on Google Maps in order to remember all the shortcuts and safely arrive on time.
Exactly 17 days elapsed since the last time members of the Charlotte Hornets hopped in their expensive cars and navigated through uptown over to Trade Street, making Monday’s matchup with Houston a rarity in a sense. And LaMelo Ball probably could’ve used directions to the exact spot to park his highlighter green Lamborghini, considering he had not suited up for a home game in a month dating back to Nov. 26.
“It’s tough,” coach James Borrego said. “I got lost a few times, but we figured it out. We got in. It’s great to be home. ... number one, to see your family and get some normalcy back in your life and see the loved ones ... But (also) get to feel that love tonight with our fans.”
So much had transpired and things still weren’t quite completely routine against the Rockets given the Hornets were without the services of Miles Bridges and P.J. Washington because of the league’s health and safety protocols. There hasn’t been much to get excited about with the Hornets as of late and that’s why their 123-99 win over Houston had a feel-good vibe throughout.
With all five starters topping double figures for the first time since Dec. 6 against Philadelphia — and reversing the trend they were entangled in four nights prior in Denver when four-fifths of them were on the bench during their record-breaking comeback — there was only one pressing question that needed an answer.
Just how long would the crowd of 19,359, the Hornets’ fourth sellout of the season, keep the wave going?
“I thought we grew as a group on the road,” Borrego said. “I thought through the highs and lows of the road trip, we grew as a unit. And we knew if we could come back home with some momentum, this was going to be a home-friendly environment for us moving forward after tonight, 28 games. We feel the energy of the crowd. You can absolutely feel the energy in the city, in this building right now. It’s starting to move.
“There’s great momentum and our guys are feeding off it. You can feel it from the start. So I give our fans a ton of credit, I give our organization a ton of credit. But these players, the fans want to come out and watch them and we are going to feed off that.”
Nearly every single one of them did that starts with Jalen McDaniels, who stepped into Bridges’ starting position and posted a season-high-tying 16 points. Terry Rozier, along with Mason Plumlee, chowed down the most on Houston and the two had insatiable appetites.
Rozier pumped in 27 points, going 7 of 12 beyond the arc, and Plumlee was a force inside to the tune of 15 points, 9 rebounds and three assists, connecting on all seven shots — including three nifty, two-handed reverse dunks.
As good as the offensive fireworks of Rozier and Plumlee were, they were equally impressive on the other end of the floor in helping keep the Rockets below triple digits. Guarding effectively on the perimeter has been an issue for the Hornets, which is one of the reasons they rank dead last in the league on that side of the ball, and Rozier shouldered his share of the blame.
“To be honest my defense all year just hasn’t been there all year as far as effort,” Rozier said. “I’ll be the first to say it. You’ve got to look yourself in the mirror and coach has challenged me to pick it up the last couple of games. So that’s been an emphasis for me. I know offensively I’ll be fine and it will take care of itself. I just try to control what I can on the defensive end.”
The win broke a stretch of 14 games in which the opposition topped 100 points; the Hornets improved to 5-0 this season when keeping their foe from cracking the century mark. They’re also 7-0 when limiting the opposition to 105 points or fewer.
“I just think that was the focus going into the game and when we start games defending it, that’s a good thing for us,” Plumlee said. “To hold a team to under 100 is something that we can be proud of for sure.”
Seeing their emotional leader continuing to slowly break out of his self-professed slump didn’t hurt, either. Rozier cracked the 20-point plateau for just the third time in the last eight games, but he’s done it now in two of his past three outings. The signs are there. He’s snapping out of his funk.
“Scary Terry” mode is activated again.
“I be feeling like 80% of shooting is confidence,” Rozier said. “Like the mechanics, everybody has their own way of shooting. But it’s your confidence there. I feel like I’m a hell of a shooter. I get a lot of shots up in the summer, but if my confidence ain’t there then I might as well not shoot it. But that’s what the difference is. Just my confidence and it’s going to stay high. I’ve just got to know that I’m one of the best shooters in this league. So I’ve just got to let it go. And my coaches and my teammates do a great job of finding me and trusting in me.”
Similar to how they had to delve into their memory banks just to remember their route into work.
“That’s just the way our schedule was, but we are glad that we are going to be home for a while,” Rozier said. “We go to Indiana tomorrow, but we’ve got a little break. For the rest of the season, I don’t think we go more than two games on the road in a row. So we are just looking to have the home-court advantage and adjust being home with our family and get a win in front of our fans.”
