Hornets achieve franchise and season record

INDIANAPOLIS — Charlotte coach James Borrego gave his players a simple instruction Wednesday night: Let it fly.

The Hornets did not disappoint. They made 24 3-pointers, broke the franchise single-game scoring record and produced the highest point total in the NBA this season with a 158-126 win over the Indiana Pacers.

“Tonight we got to that area in the third quarter and we didn’t look back,” he said. Kelly Oubre Jr.., who scored a career-high 39 points and made a career-high 10 three-pointers. “None of us were looking for numbers today. We just wanted to play hard.”

The numbers, however, were incredible.

• Oubre was 12-for-18 from the field and missed just five 3-pointers. He became the fifth player in league history to make 10 three-pointers in a game off the bench.

LaMelo Ball added his fourth triple-double of the season with 29 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds. That tied to Lebron James with the third most by a player before his 21st birthday in League history.

• According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Ball and Oubre became the sixth group of teammates in NBA history with a triple-double and 10 3-pointers in a game.

• In all, four Hornets players topped the 20-point mark by matching their season best from beyond the arc.

• And the Hornets scored 87 points in the second half, the most by any team after halftime since the Rockets scored 94 against the Nuggets on Jan. 10, 1991.

Charlotte also snapped a two-game losing streak and pulled off a four-game sweep of the injury-depleted Pacers, who eliminated the Hornets in the play-in round last season. The 158 points were the most allowed in a game in NBA franchise history.

It was not a surprise for Borrego.

“We were scheduled for one of these games,” he said. “We just started rolling, guy after guy and just a great game offensively tonight and a great third quarter defensively. That’s what changed the game.”

The Pacers, led by 17 points from both Goga Bitdaze and rookie Isaiah Jacksonlost their third loss in a row and the seventh of nine.

Playing without three starters, Indiana just couldn’t keep up, and didn’t have much time to see what was coming.

Charlotte opened the game scoring 12 of the first 15 points and led 71-70 at the half. The Hornets opened the third quarter with seven straight points and used a 13-2 run to take a 104-82 lead with 4:18 to go.

They broke the franchise record, fittingly, with a 3-pointer from Miles Bridges with 5:14 to go and advanced to the final buzzer.

“It happens, you just have to go ahead and play harder like we did on the West Coast,” Bitadze said. “It’s hard. It’s not like you’re going to forget it. You have to use it as motivation.”

With information from ESPN Stats & Information and The Associated Press.

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Hornets achieve franchise and season record