Anthony Davis Tips the Hornets past the Celtics.

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Published: March 20, 2013

The Hornets were not about to let the Miami Heat upstage them tonight as they pulled off a last second win. Those on the tanking train might not be too happy but it’s tough not to be excited about the cornerstone of the franchise tipping in the game winning shot as time expires despite fighting the flu.

Before we get to everything else,  let’s talk about the game winner. Down 86-85 the Hornets doubled Paul Pierce and forced him to miss a fade away jumper. Ryan Anderson grabbed the defensive rebound and the Hornets called a timeout with 15 seconds left.

Coming out of the timeout the Hornets lined up in a formation they don’t use too often: the Horns. Eric Gordon had the ball at the top of the 3-point line, there was a player at the top of each side of the free throw line, and a man in each corner–basically creating a V. After dribbling to kill time, Anderson (at least I think it was, I don’t have a clip of the play to watch right now) cut across the court, and Gordon started to drive. Avery Bradley defended Gordon well and for a second Gordon lost his dribble. After regaining it he drove on Bradley for a layup which just missed.

And then from the corner Davis flies and tips the ball in over the top of Kevin Garnett and Jeff Green as time more or less expires.

Awesome.

Observations

-I’m not sorry to say this: Robin Lopez is not the long term answer to any question for the Hornets. Defensively he was targeted by the Celtics as they tried to get him to switch off their bigmen during the pick and roll. He also can’t rebound which is kind of a problem. 4 rebounds in 23 minutes isn’t going to cut it if the Hornets want to make deep playoff runs in the future. He’s lucky Aminu spends so much time on the court with him to make up for his lack of rebounding ability.

-I’ve been hard on him all season but Brian Roberts really kept the Hornets offense going in the 4th quarter. He basically played the role we’d expect Gordon to do. He knew someone needed to carry the Hornets offense and he did just that. I’m not even upset he was looking for his shot first since, tonight, it was needed. Assuming he’s on a cheap contract I’d be all for bringing him back next season.

-Lou Amundson was the Hornets best defender off the ball in the first half. His rotations and help defense were on time and that is something this team sorely needs.

-Nice to see Darius Miller get significant minutes tonight.

-The Hornets won the free throw battle tonight and it was a direct result of taking 37 of their 71 shots within 3 feet of the rim.

-I can’t fight it anymore, I like what Aminu’s been doing. He has fully embraced his role and a rebounder and transition guy. He’s not trying to do too much and, to sound cliché, is letting the game come to him. I don’t really want him as a starter but there is definitely a place on the team for him.

That’s all I’ve got for you tonight. Enjoy the win!

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