It took Miles Bridges’ friction, Gordon Hayward’s calm to end Hornets’ losing streak
Early in the fourth quarter, the Charlotte Hornets needed Miles Bridges to make things crazy.
At the end of that quarter, they needed Gordon Hayward to make things calm.
With equal parts Bridges’ passion and Hayward’s steadiness, the Hornets beat the Orlando Magic on Sunday 107-104. Extract either of those elements, and the Hornets are on a five-game losing streak.
Bridges caused a fuss in a timeout early in the final quarter, telling coaches and teammates to shelve the zone defense for this game and man-up. That started an animated debate, which coach James Borrego welcomed, because the energy and emotion carried over to a 25-4 Charlotte run.
“I was kind of mad that they kept scoring on our zone. I was like, ‘Hey, let’s get out of that zone and guard man-to-man!’” Bridges recalled after the game. “Me and one of the assistant coaches got into it. I guess that lit everybody up.”
The Hornets outscored the Magic 33-18 in the fourth quarter, holding Orlando to 32% shooting and pestering the Magic into four turnovers.
That overcame a 12-point deficit, but the job wasn’t done. With 8.7 seconds left, the Magic’s Terrence Ross hit a corner 3-pointer to tie the game. The Hornets needed something special in response.
Hayward has been special in his first 15 games in Charlotte, and what followed is why they’re paying him $120 million over four years.
Hayward broke down Orlando’s Evan Fournier with a crossover dribble, calmly driving to the rim for a layup with 0.7 seconds left for what became the winning basket.
It was the fifth time in Hayward’s 10-plus NBA seasons that he’s made a game-winning shot in the final 5 seconds. Last time a Hornet did that, it was Devonte Graham in November of 2019.
“Super-young”
Hayward’s numbers have been All-Star caliber: 23 points per game on 50% shooting from the field and 40% from 3-point range. I asked him if he’s now impacting winning and losing.
He deflected somewhat, but noted the Hornets are “super young.” There’s talent here, but much of the emerging core — Graham, Bridges, P.J. Washington and rookie LaMelo Ball — has no playoff experience.
Owner Michael Jordan signed off on not only outbidding the Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks, but stretching the final $27 million of Nic Batum’s contract, to acquire Hayward. It was a huge gamble. So far, it’s a success.
Hayward replaces what the Hornets had in point guard Kemba Walker, only with greater experience. When Walker left Charlotte for the Boston Celtics, he was an All-Star, but had never played on a team that won a round of the playoffs. Hayward has been through playoff runs in Utah and Boston. He knows the rhythms — when to play fast or slow, when to pass and when to take over.
Despite his understated Midwestern persona in interviews, Hayward also has the star ego this team needed.
“Always calm about it”
I asked Bridges what Hayward adds that this team lacked.
“Watching him in the fourth quarter, in those tough situations, you put the ball in his hands,” Bridges said. “He creates a play and he’s always calm about it.”
Bridges might not be that go-to scorer, but he brings energy and attitude this team needs. He caused a stir in the preseason when he said publicly how sick he was of the franchise’s mediocrity.
“The Hornets, we haven’t been a good organization for a long time,” Bridges said in early December. “Let’s be honest about it — everybody here, we’re tired of that.”
Sunday, Bridges got tired enough to start an argument. Borrego doesn’t need that every game. But it was just enough friction to burn a path to a win.
This story was originally published January 25, 2021 at 8:37 AM with the headline "It took Miles Bridges’ friction, Gordon Hayward’s calm to end Hornets’ losing streak ."
