The Charlotte Hornets return home on the second leg of a weekend back-to-back Saturday, hosting the streaking Memphis Grizzlies.
Memphis ripped off its fourth consecutive win and seventh in the last eight games Thursday with a 132-107 rout of Detroit.
The Grizzlies have scored at least 120 in their last four games and at least 132 in their last three. Ja Morant continues to set the pace, most recently posting 23 points — a modest output based on his recent play.
Morant scored at least 30 points in nine of the previous 10 before Thursday’s blowout win, and is averaging 32.5 points per game in the Grizzlies’ last 11.
“We’re earning our respect by our play,” Morant said after Thursday’s game. “I’m pretty sure every team we play against knows it’s not going to be easy when they play against us. They know we’re going to come out and play hard.”
As Memphis and Morant have caught fire in recent weeks, the Grizzlies have climbed to third in the Western Conference. A number of contributors have stepped up at various times around Morant, including Desmond Bane.
Bane rebounded from a collective 1-of-11 3-point shooting and games of seven and five points Feb. 5 and 8 against Orlando and the Los Angeles Clippers, respectively, to score 22 points on 7-of-11 shooting in Detroit.
Bane shot 3-of-4 from 3-point range, his best effort as far as percent since going 4-of-5 against Sacramento on Dec. 17.
De’Anthony Melton had his third game scoring 14 or more points in the last four on Thursday. Over those same three games, Melton has hit four 3-pointers in each.
“He’s been playing well lately,” Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said of Melton. “He’s putting in the work.”
Surging Memphis now heads to Charlotte, where the Hornets are coming off a much-needed win Friday in Detroit, 141-119.
Charlotte lost six straight before Friday’s blowout and sputtered offensively, averaging just 99 points per game during the skid.
The trip to Detroit marked a return to form for one of the NBA’s highest-scoring offenses over the course of the season.
LaMelo Ball scored 31 points and dished 12 assists Friday, while Terry Rozier and Miles Bridges added 25 points each.
Montrezl Harrell, a North Carolina native acquired from Washington in a trade for Ish Smith and Vernon Carey, scored 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting in his debut with the Hornets.
“A great group of guys,” Harrell said of his new Charlotte teammates after the game. “They’re young, but they’re eager and ready to learn. They’re looking for leadership and they’re looking for somebody to come in with that edge and that toughness.”
Harrell, the 2019-20 Sixth Man of the Year while with the Los Angeles Clippers, averaged 14.1 points and 6.7 rebounds per game in 46 games with the Wizards.
His arrival comes just days after Charlotte lost Gordon Hayward for an indefinite stretch due to a sprained ankle sustained Monday in a loss to Toronto.
Hayward is averaging 16.1 points per game and scored 25 points in Charlotte’s 118-108 win over Memphis on Nov. 10. Morant scored 32 points in the first matchup, while Ball neared a triple-double with 12 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.
