Gordon Hayward Explodes for 41 as Hornets Dominate Spurs

The Charlotte Hornets improve to 16-14 on the season.

After getting thumped by the Dallas Mavericks two days ago, the Charlotte Hornets took out their frustration with a 131-115 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night. 

In the loss to Dallas, Charlotte never led in the game and trailed by as much as 30. The script flipped against San Antonio as the Hornets led from wire to wire and also had their largest lead at 30 points. It didn't take long for the Hornets respond in a big way as they posted 46 points in the opening quarter of the night including hitting 10 of 14 three-point attempts. Cody Martin got off to a great start by drilling three from beyond the arc in the first five minutes of the game. Gordon Hayward was just as hot from the field converting on five of his first six shots, including a perfect 4/4 from three. The 46-point first quarter was the highest point total in a quarter this season by the Hornets. Through one, Charlotte led by 15.

San Antonio finally strung some stops together on the defensive end of the floor and cut the lead to just eight four and a half minutes in. James Borrego used a timeout and the Hornets pushed the lead back out to 20, 71-51. The ball movement and unselfishness of the Hornets played a big part in the offensive success early on. 

Hayward put up 21 points in the third quarter alone hitting shot after shot, doing most of his damage in the paint. He ended the night with 41 points (three shy of a career high) and shot the ball at an extremely efficient rate hitting 15 of 19 attempts.

"I'm extremely proud of him. He's been brewing, he's been trying. He's been pushing for a game like this for a while," Borrego said of Hayward. "He and I had a great conversation before the game and he played well here last season. He played aggressively. I don't know if there's something about this building where he lights up. Now the goal is that he continues at this same pace, same aggression. When he plays at that level, he takes us to another level."

The Hornets will be back in action on Friday as they take on the Portland Trail Blazers which will mark the halfway point of the six-game road stretch. Tip-off is set for 10 p.m. EST and can be viewed on Bally Sports.

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