CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Gordon Hayward dapped up James Bouknight and hung back for another split second, gathering himself prior to sprinting through the club lounge area and onto the Spectrum Center court.
The line of players in front of him was scarce by NBA standards, a direct result of the Charlotte Hornets missing seven key players — two of which were added to the injury report earlier with non-COVID illnesses. Besides Hayward, the Hornets had just nine others in uniform.
“Yeah I don’t think I’ve experienced that,” coach James Borrego said. “That’s not ideal. I don’t think I’ve ever missed seven guys at a time on a team. I’ve never seen that before. I’ve not experienced that. But it’s OK. We move forward.”
Full speed ahead, too.
Undermanned again and holding a fourth-quarter lead for the third straight game, the Hornets found a way to close it out. Barely. Cody Martin hit a free throw with 5.5 seconds left, then inexplicably fouled Sacramento’s De’Aaron Fox on the ensuing possession. But Fox missed both free throws, giving the Hornets a wild 124-123 win over the Kings on Friday night.
Here are some of the main takeaways from the Hornets’ victory:
The good bouk
Any questions about whether James Bouknight had any more left in him were answered quickly.
Bouknight was unconscious, firing in shots from just about everywhere. He drained 6 of 8 attempts beyond the 3-point arc and already gained Borrego’s trust enough to be in the game during the fourth quarter and crunch time.
Bouknight’s 24 points were not just a career best, they were tops for the Hornets period. He played within himself and didn’t force anything, looking nothing like somebody logging action in his 11th pro game.
Take two
Nobody with enough qualifying attempts has fared better than Cody Martin behind the 3-point line percentage-wise through seven weeks. Martin entered shooting 50.1 percent beyond the arc and was uncharacteristically cool from that range against the Kings, going 1 for 4. He missed his first three until he nailed a huge one to put the Hornets ahead by two with 34.2 seconds remaining.
However, Martin had the touch from 2-point range, and pumped in a career-best 20 points, canning 6 of 8 shots and effectively served as the Hornets’ point guard for the third straight game, even registering a career-high tying three blocks.
Vernon gets no. 5
All the missing guys on the front line meant the Hornets had to start someone else at center and that distinction went to Vernon Carey Jr. The second-year center hadn’t been in the starting lineup since April 22 against Chicago and he didn’t play passively.
Carey, making his fifth career start, powered in 3 of his first 5 shots and had seven points and a pair of rebounds by halftime.
Arnie debuts
Fans might’ve needed a program to figure out who No. 98 was for the Hornets.
Arnoldas Kulboka was summoned off the bench by Borrego and received his first career minutes. The rookie from Lithuania got inserted at the outset of the second quarter to give some of the starting unit wing players a break, but didn’t score in his three-minute stint.
Kulboka is raw, and that’s why he’s spent most of his time this season playing in the G League with Greensboro. His ability to shoot from long range is something the Hornets like a lot, but he still has to get acclimated to the speed and physicality of the league compared to Europe.
A Kai Jones sighting
With the lack of available bodies, one would’ve thought Kai Jones would be a possible option and could get his first true meaningful minutes of the season.
It didn’t happen until the start of the fourth quarter.
That’s when Jones finally made it off the bench, leaving Scottie Lewis as the only Hornet to not get in on the action. Jones missed his first attempt — a short turnaround in the lane — but had a nice tip close to midway through the fourth quarter. Borrego believes the 20-year-old has the skills to make an immediate impact when he does receive more time.
“He’s an athletic young man that, you feel him out there,” Borrego said. “He’s not out there just wandering and lumbering up and down the sideline. This guy has great energy. He’s going to fly around. He’s going to make plays. Probably some good, probably some learning moments as well.
“But that’s OK. That’s part of his growth process. He’s got great energy. If he’s out there, you’re going to feel him. He can run with anybody and that fits our style.”
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