Hornets Pull Off a Last Second Win Over the Warriors and Crash the Tank.

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Published: April 25, 2012

It was a must lose game for the Hornets, but they actually pulled off a win at the end of the 4th quarter. That wasn’t how this game was supposed to go…

The draft lottery.

That is all this game had going for it. No Eric Gordon for the Hornets, no Stephen Curry, David Lee or Andrew Bogut for the Warriors.

But in a game where both teams would have been smart to tank, there was a surprising amount of effort. Maybe it was because 6 of the 10 starters were rookies looking to prove themselves, maybe it was because of all the D-Leaguers playing for a roster spot next season, maybe it was the veterans with expiring contracts hoping to increase their paycheck. Maybe Monty Williams is a great coach who gets maximum effort out of his players. That’s not a maybe; that is a fact.

The Hornets were in beautiful position to lose this game. The score was tied at 81 with 26 seconds left in the 4th. Charles Jenkins hoisted up a poor three point attempt. The Warriors’ Chris Wright grabbed the offensive board. 24 seconds left. Perfect. The Warriors hit the last shot, the Hornets lose, and the Anthony Davis dream continues.

Nope.

Gustavo Ayon blocks Jenkins’ layup. Greivis Vasquez gets the ball. He passes to an open Marco Belinelli under the basket who attempts the layup…and the Warriors get called for goaltending. Final score 83-81 Hornets. That sound you hear is Micheal pulling out his hair.

The Hans Gruber (of Die Hard fame) Villain of the Game Award

Welcome to the club Charles Jenkins! YOU SERIOUSLY COULDN’T HAVE HIT ONE OF THOSE TWO SHOTS AT THE END OF THE GAME? I HATE YOU.

Other Observations

-Ayon was all over the place on defense. He gave up a few early buckets to Jeremy Tyler, but overall really kept the Warriors’ bigman off his game. Well done.

-The Hornets ran some very nice sets with great ball movement throughout the first quarter, and failed to score on most of them. That about sums up the season.

-When Aminu works on his game during the offseason, the first thing he needs to work on is his handle. He loses the ball far too easily too often. It would help his scoring and cut down on his turnovers.

-Aminu did look sharp on defense. His length clearly causes problems for whoever he is guarding. He was only credited with one block but he altered many shots tonight.

-Belinelli had a burst of scoring in the 2nd and then didn’t do much after that was put in late in the 4th by Monty to try and win the game. We all saw how that turned out. I’m going to start pretending his doesn’t exist.

-Carl Landry did his Landry thing.

I’m not an Aerosmith fan but, tonight, I’m going to leave you with this since they have an awesome cover of the Tiny Bradshaw song. Sub in “Tank” for “Train” and “Kentucky” for “New York City.” It kind of works.

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