But the Hornets were able to chip away at the Spurs lead behind 8-for-19 shooting from three (42 percent) and an impressive performance by Jeremy Lin that was reminiscent of his early days with NY and the Linsanity era. “We’re still growing, we’re still getting better on a night-to-night basis and we can celebrate this, but we gotta keep moving forward”. “Now we have to come out and take care of business (Tuesday at Brooklyn)”.
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Nicolas Batum added 15 points, and Cody Zeller grabbed 14 rebounds for the Hornets, who bounced back from a disappointing loss to the Denver Nuggets on Saturday night.
San Antonio received double doubles from Tim Duncan (16 points, 10 rebounds) and LaMarcus Aldridge (18 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists) but it wasn’t enough to bag the win.
Lin, who saw his minutes decreased following the arrival of Courtney Lee at trade deadline, got the green light from Steve Clifford to attack offensively, and he never disappointed a bit.
Two days after handling the leagues best team in the Golden State Warriors, The San Antonio Spurs suffered their 11th loss of the season Monday night to the surging Charlotte Hornets behind Jeremy Lin’s 29 points and 7 rebounds off the bench. “In the first quarter, I don’t know what the numbers were, but we were just shooting the ball (and not) getting in the paint. So we scored 84 in three quarters against a team [that] right now, by the numbers, is going to be the best defensive team in National Basketball Association history”.
The Spurs will be looking for their 11th straight win over the Charlotte Hornets in this one.
The Hornets were outscored 28-7 in the first quarter but rallied to improve to 40-30 for the season. The Hornets finally moved ahead after a Jeremy Lin three-pointer with 9:09 remaining gave them a 75-74 lead.
“When the first 3 went down and when I’m comfortable and in a zone, it’s usually good for me”, Lin said. After two misses by Leonard on the next San Antonio possession, Lin snagged a rebound and hit the two ensuing free throws after a Spurs foul to put the Hornets up, 91-88, with 18.3 seconds left in the game. The 29 points were his second-most in a game this season. J.R. Smith had a handy contribution with 15 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds and 4 steals. The Hornets will play seven of their next eight games on the road.
The Pistons, who are in a tight race for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, came out inexplicably flat and trailed by 17 points in the first half.
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Rapper Nelly and Carolina Panthers defensive players Thomas Davis and Charles Johnson took in the game.
