The oddest Charlotte Hornets statistic you’ll probably read all season is...
The Charlotte Hornets scoring 10 points in the first quarter Saturday was an NBA rarity.
But if it was going to happen in this NBA season, figures it would in a Hornets game.
In the 6,000-plus quarters played through Saturday this NBA season, just 14 have ended with one team scoring 11 or fewer points. The Hornets have scored 11 or less twice, both this month, and held the Chicago Bulls to 10 in December.
The Hornets scored 10 Saturday in the first quarter of a 116-100 loss to the Dallas Mavericks. After the game, the Mavericks’ Rick Carlisle, in his 18th NBA season as a head coach, mentioned how strikingly rare it is to hold any team to 10.
Except, the Hornets scored just 11 in the third quarter against the Spurs in San Antonio on Feb. 1. Also, they held the Bulls to 10 in the third quarter on Dec, 13 at United Center.
The details:
▪ Saturday against the Mavericks, the Hornets shot 4-of-24 from the field and 2-of-10 from 3-point range. They committed three turnovers. They trailed Dallas 31-10 at the end of that quarter.
▪ Against the Spurs, the Hornets were outscored by 18 in the third quarter, blowing a big first-half lead. In that quarter they shot 5-of-19 (1-of-9 from 3), but the bigger problem was committing nine turnovers. The Hornets lost 114-90.
▪ Against the Bulls, the Hornets held Chicago to 4-of-22 from the field and 1-of-10 from 3. They outscored the Bulls by five in that quarter, on their way to a n 83-73 victory (their fewest points allowed this season).
