Charlotte Hornets: Grand Rapids Drive Finish off the Greensboro Swarm, 109-100
After battling for the entire first half, the Charlotte Hornets’ D-League affiliate surrendered a huge run and was unable to recover against Grand Rapids.
The Grand Rapids Drive (owner by the Detroit Pistons) went on a 21-3 run to begin the third quarter, and the Greensboro Swarm (owner by the Charlotte Hornets) were never able to recover, losing 109-100 on the road. Kevin Murphy dropped 22 points, Michael Gbinije and Jordan Crawford both tallied 20 apiece, and Henry Ellenson had 12 points to lead the Drive to their 17th win and even out their record.
Perry Ellis and Rasheed Sulaimon continued their strong play, as they both tallied 18 points. Ellis added nine rebounds, while Cheick Diallo had 15 points and 14 boards for the Swarm, who fell to 11-23 on the season. Damien Wilkins had 12 points, and Archie Goodwin had 10.
Poor shooting was the story once again for the Swarm, as they only hit 37-96 (38.5%) field goals. The slump came to a head in the third quarter, when the Drive went on a 21-3 run that essentially put the game out of reach. During the run, Greensboro took many long, contested midrange and three-point jumpers, which led to leaking out and transition opportunities for the Drive.
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Countless players struggled: Cat Barber had nine points on 4/20 shooting, Archie Goodwin netted 10 while shooting 4/15, Ralston Turner had nine on 3/12 shooting (including 1/9 from 3P), and Wilkins shot 3/9. Diallo, Sulaimon and Ellis were the lone bright spots.
Those three, along with Shonn Miller (four points on 2/3) and Rodney Williams (six points, 2/2 FG) were the only players to hit more than 45% of their shots.
The Swarm will have two days off to recover and will hit the floor again on Saturday, February 11 to face the Reno Bighorns at home. The contest will be aired on Facebook Live and will be the first matchup with Reno this season.
