Anthony Davis scores game high 22 points as Hornets display impressive skills and team play.
The New Orleans Hornets continued their impressive preseason form on Tuesday by winning their second consecutive preseason game when they defeated the Charlotte Bobcats 97-82 here in New Orleans. The game saw the number 1 and number
2 pick of the 2012 NBA Draft in Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist face off against each other, as both players attempt to change the fate of their respective franchises. Davis had the final laugh on the night, scoring a game high 22 points and 9 rebounds.
Robin Lopez added 18 points and 13 rebounds for the Hornets, who took control of the game in the second half and then never let go. Kidd-Gilchrist finished with 10 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists for the night.
The Hornets started the game well, taking an early 12-5 lead through two free throws by Al-Farouq Aminu, who was on fire in the early going and scored 8 of the Hornets first 12 points. A put back layup by Lopez gave the Hornets
a 21-12 lead with less than 6 minutes left in the period. Charlotte responded with back to back three pointers by Jeff Taylor, and a layup by Kemba Walker had them trailing 28-30. The Hornets finished the first period leading 35-28.
Charlotte came into the second period fired up, and had tied the game at 37 within the first three minutes of the quarter. A floating jump shot by Ben Gordon started an 11-0 run by the Bobcats, allowing them to extend their lead
to 51-41. Charlotte led 57-46 at halftime, after outscoring the Hornets 29-11 in the second period.
The tide switched in the third period, as this time the Hornets came out firing on all cylinders, and opened the quarter with a 12-0 run to take a 58-57 lead, as Charlotte was unable to get any points on the board till the 5:54
mark in the period. A dunk by Davis put the Hornets up 68-61, and he later scored five straight points to put his team up 74-65 going into the final quarter. New Orleans outscored Charlotte 28-8 in the third period, as the Bobcats failed to get their offence
going throughout the 12 minutes.
The Hornets opened their scoring in the final period with back to back to back three pointers and extended their lead to 83-69, sealing the fate of the game there and then. They maintained a comfortable double digit lead throughout
the rest of the game, and eventually won 97-82.
Aminu had 12 points for the night where as rookie Austin Rivers added 13 points and 3 assists. Greivis Vasquez performed starting point guard duties for the Hornets and finished with 11 assists and 6 rebounds. Ryan Anderson was
hot from three point range, going 5 of 6 for the night from the distance and finishing with 15 points. Both teams were quite even in shooting percentages as well as rebounding, but the Hornets made good runs at key intervals and had contributions from many
players which eventually led to their victory.
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