Hornets at Mavericks
The Charlotte Hornets picked up their first win of the season in impressive fashion on Tuesday and look to make it two in a row when they visit the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday. The Mavericks dropped their home opener but are taking small steps forward with the return of Chandler Parsons.
The Hornets failed to score more than 94 points in losing each of their first three games but looked like a completely different team with owner Michael Jordan watching from the sidelines in a 130-105 win over the Chicago Bulls. “We played with a purpose tonight,” center Al Jefferson told reporters after the win. “We wanted to start this game playing from ahead and we did that.” The Mavericks failed to start out fast on Tuesday and allowed the Toronto Raptors to score 31 first-quarter points before storming back and falling short in a 102-91 loss. Parsons, who made his season debut on Sunday after recovering from knee surgery, watched the end of the game from the bench and will be kept to a strict minutes limit as he works himself back into shape.
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, FSN Southeast (Charlotte), FSN Southwest (Dallas)
ABOUT THE HORNETS (1-3): Charlotte signed 23-year-old guard Jeremy Lamb to a three-year, $21 million contract extension before the deadline on Monday and got some immediate value back when he exploded for 20 points on 9-of-10 shooting off the bench on Tuesday. Buried on the bench in Oklahoma City during his first three seasons, Lamb has a chance to earn a large role with the Hornets and is averaging 13.3 points in 19.3 minutes in his first three games. The UConn product is splitting time at the shooting guard spot with P.J. Hairston, who is averaging 5.8 points on 33.3 percent shooting.
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (2-2): Parsons was not the only player nursing an injury throughout training camp and the first week of the regular season, and the new backcourt of Wesley Matthews and Deron Williams is trying to learn to play together while both are having their playing time monitored. “This isn’t going to be easy,” Matthews told ESPNDallas.com. “I think we have to remind ourselves of that from time to time. Had everybody been healthy, we’d probably have more sets in, we’d probably have more stuff in, more specific plays for specific people.” Williams and Matthews combined to go 7-of-22 from the field in the loss.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Mavericks F Dirk Nowitzki is 6-of-9 from 3-point range in the last two games.
2. Charlotte rookie F Frank Kaminsky is 4-of-6 from 3-point range.
3. Dallas took both meetings last season by a combined 38 points.