Charlotte Hornets (33-33) beat Portland Trail Blazers (31-35) 103-101 on the road on Tuesday, March 10, after falling far behind. The Hornets were down 14 at one quarter break and still finished 2 ahead.
The game, quarter by quarter
The Trail Blazers struck first, taking the opening quarter 34-20 and a 14-point lead after one. The Hornets cut into the deficit with a 26-21 second quarter, though the Trail Blazers still led by 9 at halftime.
The Hornets won the third 32-27 to stay in front, taking a 4-point lead into the fourth. The Hornets took the fourth 25-19; the Hornets completed the comeback for a 103-101 regulation win.
What flipped it
The Hornets grabbed 33.3% of their own misses, while the Trail Blazers recovered 21.7%. The Hornets made 23.9 free throws per 100 field-goal attempts, compared with 18.1 for the Trail Blazers. In a 2-point game, the second chances kept adding up.
The Trail Blazers did win one battle, shooting: eFG% of 51.8% against 46.6%. The Hornets made up for it elsewhere.
At roughly 99 possessions per team, the Hornets produced 104.1 points per 100 possessions to 102.1 for the Trail Blazers.
Who carried the comeback
Jerami Grant was the game's biggest individual force for POR: 24 pts, 3 reb, 3 ast on 7-10 shooting. His Game Score of 19.6 led everyone.
Brandon Miller led the Hornets with 23 pts, 9 reb, 4 ast, 3 stl on 7-18 shooting, good for a 17.3 Game Score.
Donovan Clingan (11 pts, 11 reb, 3 ast) recorded a double-double.
What it means
The pre-game Win Meter had it close to a coin flip, at about 58% for the Hornets.
Across the last 3 meetings in our records, Portland Trail Blazers lead 2-1.
The Hornets are now 33-33, and the Trail Blazers are 31-35. The Hornets last five before this game: W-W-W-L-L.
Written automatically by Tip Off Live software from box score data. Ratings and probabilities are our own model estimates.