Hornets Rout Road-Weary Mavs 129-108 For 4th Straight Win
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Miles Bridges scored 23 points, P.J. Washington added a season-high 21 and the Charlotte Hornets routed the road-weary Dallas Mavericks 129-108 on Saturday night for their fourth straight victory.
Terry Rozier scored 18 points, and LaMelo Ball and Kelly Oubre each had 17 points for the Hornets. They shot 20 of 42 from 3-point range.
Luka Doncic had 37 points and eight 3s for the Mavericks, who were playing their fifth road game in eight nights and on the second night of a back-to-back. Doncic did not play in the fourth quarter with the game out of hand.
The Hornets (36-35) moved into sole possession of ninth place in the Eastern Conference a half-game ahead of the Atlanta Hawks. They are one game behind the eighth-place Brooklyn Nets.
The Mavericks (43-28) beat Houston, Boston and Brooklyn to open the five-game trip, but lost at Philadelphia and Charlotte on consecutive nights to fall 1 1/2 games behind the fourth-place Utah Jazz in the West.
The Hornets came out of the gates hot, bolting to a 19-4 lead after making their first seven shots from the field including five 3s as the Mavericks looked slow closing out on shots. Charlotte had eight 3s in the first quarter.
Dallas showed signs of life by battling back to take the lead late in the second quarter, but the Hornets closed the first half on a 11-0 run to take a 61-52 lead at the break.
Charlotte pulled away in the third quarter despite 21 points in the quarter from Doncic, and pushed the lead to 32 in the fourth quarter.
TIP INS
Mavericks: Spencer Dinwiddie (injury recovery, right knee), Tim Hardaway Jr. (left foot surgery) and Theo Pinson (right fifth finger fracture) all sat out. ... Davis Bertans fouled out early in the fourth quarter with two points. ... With the Mavs trailing by 31 in the fourth quarter, Dallas fans in the crowd began chanting "We want Boban" Marjanovic. He did not play.
Hornets: Gordon Hayward missed his 16th straight game with a sprained left ankle.
UP NEXT
Mavericks: Host Minnesota on Monday night.
Hornets: Host New Orleans on Monday night.
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