Tremendous as Kemba Walker’s 103 points in two games looked, this couldn’t keep up indefinitely.
Wednesday it didn’t have to: Walker, the NBA’s leading scorer at 29.6 points per game, got plenty of help from his teammates in a surprisingly easy 127-109 victory over the Indiana Pacers.
Walker finished with 16 points and a season-high 11 assists. Six other Hornets scored in double figures, including shooting guard Jeremy Lamb’s 21. The Hornets (9-8) made a season-high 18 3-pointers against one of the NBA’s top defenses this season.
The Pacers (11-7) got 20 points from forward Bojan Bogdanovic. The Hornets now have back-to-back victories over two top teams in the Eastern Conference, in the Pacers and Boston Celtics.
Three who mattered
Lamb: It’s so important someone other than Walker can be counted on for Hornets scoring.
Frank Kaminsky: Midway through the fourth quarter he had nine points, his prior total this season
Domantas Sabonis: Pacers reserve was making just about every shot until he fouled out with six minutes left.
Observations
▪ Hornets center Willy Hernangomez missed Wednesday’s game with a right ankle sprain, and that had an interesting tumble-down effect: Kaminsky, who had totaled just 26 minutes in the prior 16 games, was the first Charlotte substitution. All 14 Hornets on guaranteed contracts have now played meaningful minutes this season.
▪ The Pacers played without All-Star guard Victor Oladipo, out with a sore right knee.
▪ Hornets guard Malik Monk hit a 3-pointer in the second quarter to break a brutal streak: He had missed his prior 14 3s.
▪ The Pacers entered this game third in the NBA in defensive efficiency, and Hornets coach James Borrego said Indiana is perhaps the most physical team the Hornets have faced so far. But that didn’t stop the Hornets from shooting 26-of-44 in the first half to generate 68 points.
▪ Power forward Marvin Williams had to be helped off the court with about 4 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter. He had fallen to the floor and was then inadvertently kicked in the head by a Pacers player. He suffered a bloody nose and a face contusion.
Worth mentioning
▪ Hornets forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist missed his fourth consecutive game with a right ankle sprain. That meant more sustained minutes for Dwayne Bacon off the bench.
▪ Wednesday was Walker’s first double-double of the season.
They said it
“He’s taking care of the ball and he’s just creating all kinds of havoc out there.” – Pacers coach Nate McMillan on Walker.
“We’ve got to manage his body, manage his minutes. That’s on me.” – Borrego on keeping Walker fresh and healthy.
Report card
A+ OFFENSE: So many Hornets shot well Wednesday that it gave Walker a night when he didn’t have to carry the load.
C DEFENSE: The Pacers topped 50 points in the paint midway through the fourth quarter.
B COACHING: Borrego continues to use his bench well, this time by pulling Kaminsky into the rotation.