The Hornets took a trip to Atlanta yesterday and came away with one of those win things. In fact, not only did they win, they straight up blew out the Hawks, 96-77, running the lead to 27 at one point in the fourth. It's obvious now that the Ford Center was largely to blame for the Hornets' recent woes. Bad Ford Center. No more locker room upgrades for you.
The last time the Hornets could actually be credited with a blowout win was back on December 6th in L.A., when they topped the Lakers, 105-89. Man, those were the days.
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- More surprising than the Hornets actually winning was how much the Hawks suck right now. I've learned that they do indeed have injuries: Josh Smith and Tyronn Lue have both been out of action since before Christmas, Marvin Williams was playing on a weak ankle, while Zaza Chalupa and Speedy Claxton took some knocks last night, both missing the second half.
- Of course, none of that explains the sparse crowd at Philips Arena last night, which was announced at 10,120. Hornets vs. Hawks on a Wednesday night? The marquee matchup of Shelden Williams and Marc Jackson? Citizens of Atlanta, what the fuck is wrong with you people?
- Speaking of Speedy, his knee injury might be serious. He managed 4 points, 3 dimes and 2 steals before succumbing to the pain.
- I like the word succumbing.
- Desmond Mason followed up his back-to-back 28 point games with all of one point against Atlanta. He was 0-of-6 from the field in 28 minutes. The Hornets won, so it doesn't really matter, but that's just strange.
- Jannero Pargo played a great game off the bench for the Hornets, scoring 24 and dishing 7. He was 10-of-15 from the field, including 4-of-5 from downtown. Rasual Butler bounced back from three poor outings to score 21, board 6 and dish 5.
Tyson Chandler finished with 14 points and 9 rebounds. He's now scored in double figures in three consecutive games, putting him just 820 total points behind League-leader Gilbert Arenas. Oh yeah.
- Every healthy body got some burn for the Hornets. Brandon Bass was last off the bench and saw four minutes at the end. His most noteworthy contribution was three turnovers. D'oh!
- Nice defensive job all-round. Atlanta's 77 points were a season-low for a Hornets' opponent. Joe Johnson was held to just 13 points on 6-of-24 shooting. Rasual Butler gets most of the credit for that. Josh Childress led the Hawks with 19 points off the pine.
That win was much needed. I feel better about myself and the world in general today. Hornets back at it in the Ford Center tomorrow when Gilbert Arenas and the Wiz roll into Bricktown. I'm sure I'll get round to a preview in due time.