P.J. Washington, Hornets set records in season-opening win over Bulls

The Charlotte Hornets opened their season with a narrow victory over the Chicago Bulls. With seven three-pointers, 12th overall pick P.J. Washington set an NBA rookie record.
(Sam Sharpe-USA TODAY Sports)

CHARLOTTE -- Devonte' Graham drove inside and took two Chicago Bulls defenders with him. Then, like he had done all night, the second-year guard made another great play, flipping the ball out to a wide-open Dwayne Bacon at the top of the key. He fired.

His shot kissed the back of the rim, then fell harmlessly through the net, giving the Charlotte Hornets' their single-game franchise record 23rd three-pointer of the night and a four-point lead late in the fourth quarter.

Bacon spun around and lifted his arms up, basking in the cheers as Chicago helplessly called a timeout. With 1:11 left to play, the Bulls would never make up the deficit and the Hornets went on to win their season-opener 126-125 in front of an announced crowd of 15,424 fans Wednesday night at the Spectrum Center.

"It's huge. Every night we want to come out and play our best," Graham said. "I feel like tonight we played great as a team."

Added Hornets' head coach James Borrego: "When things go well, we have to stay disciplined. We built a nice lead there. We can't get to full of ourselves and continue to play the right way... Even though Chicago had runs, we stuck with it. We were pulling together on the sideline and it's the blend of discipline throughout the game and the resiliency." 

The Important Stat

Bacon wasn't the only player rewriting record books Wednesday. In his regular season NBA debut, Kentucky product P.J. Washington swished seven three-pointers en route to a 27-point performance. He led all Hornets' scorers, and his seven made shots from behind the arc are the most any NBA player has ever made in a debut. His point total was also a Hornets' rookie record for a debut.

"It just feels great to come out here and get a 'W' and for all of my teammates to play well and for everybody to play together," Washington said. "I'm just excited to be out here and living my dream... I didn't know (about the record) until after the game. I was just trying to make shots."

Washington hit his first three-pointer about two minutes into the game. He started the night three-for-three from behind the arc. In all, he made seven-of-11 attempts from outside.

The No. 12 overall pick from this past NBA Draft started and led the Hornets in minutes played with 37 minutes on the court. Washington also grabbed four rebounds and tallied an assist, a steal and a block.

“That was unbelievable,” Hornets’ veteran Marvin Williams said of Washington’s performance. “I didn’t realize he had 27 (points). I looked up and I couldn’t believe it. I knew he made a few shots but I didn’t know he was rolling like that. But, I’ve been impressed with him since Day One. The way he comes in each and every day and works hard on his game, the way he goes out there and competes each and every night. He’s a really smart kid, as well. He’s a great addition to the Hornets.”

The Big Highlight

Miles Bridges didn't light up the stat sheet, but he did play solid defense and threw down a few dunks, like this one.

Bridges ended the night with eight points, five rebounds, three assists and three blocks in 31 minutes.

The Crucial Takeaway

Devonte' Graham proved it down the stretch last season, in summer league and this preseason. And he showed it again Wednesday night. He's a legitimate NBA player, a talented guard and someone the Hornets are going to count on a lot this season.

The Kansas product was the first player to come off the bench Wednesday and wound up playing 27 minutes. Currently, he is this team's sixth man. Graham was second on the team in scoring and led the Hornets in assists, posting a career-high 23 points, eight assists and four rebounds.

“Definitely the most comfortable game I think I’ve played," Graham said. "I feel like a lot of it had to do with my teammates though. We were just out there being unselfish with the ball, having fun, so it had a lot to do with them.”

In the fourth quarter, Graham was playing so well that Borrego continued to ride with him in crunch time instead of reinserting Terry Rozier back into the lineup.

“He spent a lot of time in the gym this summer. Took a lot of shots, worked on his shot a tremendous amount, worked on his finishing and on his decision making. Those are the three things we need from him,” Borrego said of Graham. “That was a normal rotation, to go to Devonte at that time (in the fourth quarter). That was Terry’s normal rest time and I was going to bring him back, but that group just started rolling… You got to give Devonte a lot of credit. He was poised down the stretch.”

In the final five minutes of the game, Graham had eight points, two rebounds an assist. It's easy to make the case that the Hornets wouldn't have bested the Bulls without him.

Also

Nic Batum could be sidelined for a while. The French forward exited the game in the third quarter and an x-ray revealed that he broke his middle finger on his left hand.

Batum, the Hornets' highest paid player, was on the floor for 11 minutes Wednesday, tallying four rebounds and two assists.

Notes

  • The Hornets were outscored in the paint 78-42.
  • Charlotte made 52.3 percent of its three's, while Chicago made just 30 percent.
  • 20-of-23 of the Hornets' three-pointers were assisted.
  • The Hornets were out-rebounded 49-41.
  • Bulls' head coach Jim Boylan on what the Hornets' did well: "I thought they had us on rotations. I thought they got downhill on us. At times, our one-on-one defense hurt us... They made a lot of shots."
  • Cody Zeller had a double-double with 12 points and 15 rebounds.
  • The unit that closed the game included Graham, Bacon, Bridges, Washington and Zeller.
  • Williams had 17 points and made five-of-seven three-point attempts in 16 minutes off the bench.
  • Terry Rozier, in his Hornets' debut, had the worst plus-minus rating of any player in the game with a minus-18. He tallied seven points on two-of-10 shooting, had six assists, four turnovers and four rebounds.
  • Batum and Williams entered the game with 4:56 left in the first quarter. Malik Monk entered with 3:21 left to play in the first quarter.
  • Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Caleb Martin, Willy Hernangomez and Bismack Biyombo were the active players who did not see the floor Wednesday.
  • The game featured 11 lead changes. The Hornets' biggest lead was 16 points.

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