The Bugs’ Life: Charlotte Hornets’ seventh straight loss

CHARLOTTE HORNETS

LaMelo Ball believes the Charlotte Hornets are developing an identity although they have one of the worst records in the NBA at 14-46.

Sometimes in life you are the windshield, others you are the bug.

The Charlotte Hornets got squashed again for the seventh straight game, this time, by the Golden State Warriors 119-101. No one really expected Charlotte to win, especially the majority of patrons inside Spectrum Center, whose cheers were louder for the success of the visiting Warriors. However, Charlotte found themselves down by just three with 2:18 in the third quarter.

A series of missed shots by the Hornets, two free throws by Jimmy Butler followed by three-point shots by Buddy Hield quickly stretched the lead back to double digits.

The Hornets never recovered.

Charlotte coach Charles Lee kept things positive postgame, despite losing the last seven games by an average margin of just over 26 points. He spoke about the game’s turning point and his message to the team prior to the Warriors run.

“The end of the third,” Lee said, was the turning point. “You feel the emotions of the game, there were a bunch of technicals at that point, referees had made some calls. ... We talked about it in one of the timeouts that now that they’ve done those things and they have the emotion, they’re going to come out and they’re going to play a little bit harder. They’re going to try to respond right now in this moment, and this is great for us to embrace this challenge that’s about to come our way.”

Stephen Curry scored 21 points in his homecoming. He was tightly guarded by one of the Hornets’ best defenders in Josh Green and still managed to shoot 3-for-9 from three-point range and dish out 10 assists.

Curry wants the Hornets to become a competitive franchise. Having grown up here, played his high school basketball at Charlotte Christian and college basketball at Davidson College, this city is special to the four-time NBA champion.

“Deep down, I am always rooting for the Hornets, the Panthers and the city of Charlotte,” Curry said. “Get [the city] excited and have something to look forward to and rally around. I think going into the year, they had high hopes. I know injuries have been tough. They have some guys and some talent. They have a perspective of how they want to build, obviously with the new ownership. So, I am hoping they can turn it around, for sure.”

To Curry’s point about young talent, even in a loss, the trio of LaMelo Ball, Miles Bridges and Mark Williams all had — statistically — good games. Ball finished with 25 points and seven assists. Bridges scored a game high 35 points and added nine rebounds. Williams had a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds while adding two blocked shots.

Ball said the 14-46 Hornets are finding their identity. March isn’t the time of year to still be figuring that out, but with injuries that have plagued this team the last couple seasons, that is where they are.

“I feel like we’ve just got to find our identity — see what we’re going to do, see the shots we want and then go for those shots,” he said. “… I like to push fast and play fast pace.”

Curry complimented Ball’s game and uniqueness.

“He’s tough and he’s unorthodox the way he gets into his jumper,” Curry said. “He just has his style, and he is very comfortable doing it. He can have huge games because he is confident in himself. So, hopefully he can stay healthy ‘cause availability is everything and I went through it my first three years. He has been going through it. So, if he can turn the corner and get his body right, that is the next step.”

Bridges struck a different tone compared to their last loss. After the loss to Washington, Bridges said, “The Wizards are supposed to be the worst team in the league and they beat us four times, so what does that make us?”

It is safe to say the quest for Cooper Flagg is full steam ahead.

Cameron Williams covers the Hornets for The Post.

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