Kelly Oubre Jr. connected on 10 shots from 3-point range on his way to 39 points and LaMelo Ball had a triple-double as the Charlotte Hornets overwhelmed the Indiana Pacers in a 158-126 rout Wednesday night at Indianapolis.
The Hornets set a franchise single-game record for points while establishing an NBA season high. The Hornets’ all-time record had come this season in a 146-143 overtime loss to the Houston Rockets on Nov. 27. The Memphis Grizzlies previously held the 2021-22 mark thanks to a 152-79 rout of the Oklahoma City Thunder on Dec. 2.
Oubre shot 12-for-18 from the field. That included a 10-for-15 mark on treys, with five of those long-range buckets coming in the fourth quarter. His total of made 3-pointers tied a franchise record.
Ball poured in 29 points to go with 13 assists and 10 rebounds. Charlotte had a season-high point total, with its previous best mark in regulation having been 140 points.
Miles Bridges posted 22 points, Terry Rozier notched 20 points without scoring in the fourth quarter, James Bouknight had 13 points and Cody Martin provided 11 points for Charlotte, which snapped a two-game losing streak.
It was quite a recovery after a loss Tuesday night at Toronto.
Goga Bitadze and reserve Isaiah Jackson led Indiana with 17 points apiece. Torrey Craig and Lance Stephenson each added 14 points and Chris Duarte and Duane Washington Jr. both chipped in with 11 points.
The Pacers were home for one game after a 2-3 road trip, with their next two games back on the road.
The Hornets had a huge third quarter, racking up 42 points. They led 71-70 at halftime but built a 22-point gap at one juncture of the third quarter.
Indiana’s deficit was 113-94 after three quarters despite shooting 50.7 percent from the field.
The Hornets had bemoaned defensive woes in their past two games. They by no means solved those as the Pacers put up 36 first-quarter points.
Charlotte forward Gordon Hayward missed his third game in a row, so he didn’t play in the city where he was a college standout for Butler. He had been sidelined due to a foot injury, but he was placed in COVID-19 protocol on Wednesday.
The Hornets won all four meetings with Indiana this season, though this was the first of those decided by a double-digit margin.
–Field Level Media
