Hornets’ shooting woes continue in summer league loss to Lakers

Through four games of summer league action, the Charlotte Hornets still are searching for their first victory. After going 0-2 in Sacramento, and losing to the San Antonio Spurs on Friday in Las Vegas, the Hornets led at halftime on Sunday against the Los Angeles Lakers but fell apart in the second half, losing 93-75.

No. 2 overall draft pick Brandon Miller struggled, shooting 4-for-18 from the field and going 0-for-7 on 3-pointers to finish with 10 points. No Hornet scored more than 11 points.

Across the summer league games, the Hornets are shooting just 35.5% from the field and 22.1% from 3-point range.

“We’re not shooting it that great right now,” said Hornets assistant coach Marlon Garnett, who’s serving as head coach during summer league. “Hopefully, we can give them some more reps. ... (On Monday), we’ll get in the gym and try to get the confidence in these guys elevated. I want them to continue to play confidently, just taking the right (shots).”

After giving up 96 and 98 points in the games in Sacramento, the Hornets played stellar defense against the Spurs on Friday, holding them to just 76 points and 33.3% shooting. In the first half on Sunday, the Hornets’ defense looked respectable, giving up just 39 points to take a one-point lead at the break. But after that, it crumbled.

The Lakers scored 54 second-half points and shot 45.3% from the field and 39.1% from 3-point range for the game. The Lakers also outscored the Hornets on fast breaks, 18-8, the majority of those coming in the second half for Los Angeles.

“I think we were right in the game,” Garnett said. “The zone had us a little bit on our heels. I thought the movement in the first half was much better out of the zone. And in the second half, we kind of got a little stagnant, and then it was forcing us to take some shots that were questionable. And it kind of went downhill from there.

“I just thought that our communication was a little bit more loose defensively in the second half. And we got confused on a couple of their little small-small actions. And they got downhill and created some opportunities there. So I thought that hurt us as well.”

As for Miller, he hasn’t been able to put together a complete game in a Hornets uniform yet. His debut in Sacramento was decent — scoring 18 points on good efficiency while adding five rebounds and three assists — but he had five turnovers and five fouls. In his next game, Miller had seven assists and four rebounds but didn’t make a field goal until the fourth quarter and had four turnovers and eight fouls.

He bounced back with 16 points and 11 rebounds against the Victor Wembanyama-led Spurs on Friday, except he needed 15 shots to get there. Miller also finished with five fouls.

Although he struggled mightily on Sunday, the former University of Alabama standout was able to get some clean looks and create his own shots. They just weren’t falling.

The next opportunity for the Hornets to pick up their first summer league win is on Tuesday against the Portland Trail Blazers. The matchup was billed as Miller vs. No. 3 pick Scoot Henderson, who the Hornets debated selecting in the draft, but Portland might be without Henderson as he’s dealing with a shoulder injury.