Charles Lee discusses Vasilije Micic's injury & young guys stepping up in loss to Denver

See what the Charlotte Hornets head coach had to say following the loss to the Denver Nuggets.

Jan 25, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard Vasilije Micic (22) controls the ball against the New Orleans Pelicans during the third quarter at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Kinser-Imagn Images / Scott Kinser-Imagn Images

The Charlotte Hornets competed hard for 48 minutes Saturday night against the Denver Nuggets and nearly pulled off the surprising upset. That was until a questionable foul call on Josh Green altered the course of the final minute of the game.

Shortly after the loss, Hornets head coach Charles Lee met with the media to discuss the loss, young guys stepping up, and Vasilije Micic's injury.

High level of effort despite falling short

“Agreed, and on the second night of a back-to-back. I thought we really dug deep and tried to do everything that we possibly could to help impact winning. I thought everybody up and down the roster had a moment of helping us and impacting the game. I love what we’re building, love the growth that we continue to show and the progress that we’re making. Everybody from our young guys to our veteran players, they came in and affected the game. We needed every bit of it tonight.”

How Nick Smith Jr. and KJ Simpson stepped up, especially once Micic left the game

“It’s huge that they get these types of reps in a game where they’re going down to the wire, end of game execution, need 3. Even the play before that, Miles [Bridges] did a phenomenal job of just trusting his teammates. They wanted to put two on the ball, he threw it to KJ and I know KJ is going to knock it down. It was great for him to be in that moment and see what it feels like, and he’s just going to be better from it. At the end of the game, Nick Smith executes the play well, sets him up, gets a pass over the top and he’s going to be better from that moment. Just a phenomenal job by them to be ready for the opportunity. They put us in that position to scrap and do everything to have a 17-point fourth quarter versus a really good team. It was very impressive.”

What went wrong in the final minute

“I think we just had a really good defensive possession and that’s one of those moments where we have to find a way. We get Jokic to miss a hand hook and we got to find a way to come up with that rebound, and then after the rebound you’ve just got to defend without fouling and then maybe the game feels different. Just got to learn that extra effort of physicality, that extra effort of flying in and grabbing a rebound is going to serve us good.”

Vasilije Micic’s injury

“He was in the locker room, was in good spirits. He was talking to the team. So, we’ll see what he looks like the next couple of days as he comes in and gets evaluated and go from there.”

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