Preview: Pacers at Hornets
There is no player in the NBA hotter than Charlotte Hornets point guard Kemba Walker, who totaled 103 points in the last two games. Walker will try to put together another highlight-worthy performance and drag the Hornets to back-to-back wins when they host the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday.
Walker's 60 points weren't quite enough in a 122-119 overtime loss to Philadelphia on Saturday, but his 43 points on Monday proved to be just enough to sneak Charlotte past the Boston Celtics 117-112. "He's incredible," Hornets coach James Borrego told reporters of Walker. "This is a special player, a special performance and a special start to an NBA season. Every team is locked in on him, as I keep seeing. Every scouting report, he's the number one guy on that scouting report. They put the best defender on him and they have two or three bodies on him every single time and this guy continues to produce for us. He does whatever it takes for us to win. Kemba deserves all the credit. It's his work. It's his spirit. It's his drive." The Pacers are winners of three in a row and might have put together their best performance of the season in Monday's 121-94 win over the Utah Jazz despite missing All-Star guard Victor Oladipo (knee). "When I've been talking about ball movement and getting everyone involved, this is what we are talking about," Indiana coach Nate McMillan told reporters. "Tonight, they executed the game plan perfectly."
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FS Indiana, FS Southeast (Charlotte)
ABOUT THE PACERS (11-6): Oladipo's injury opened the door for rookie point guard Aaron Holiday, who scored a season-high 12 points in 15 minutes after Oladipo went down on Saturday and bested that mark with 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting in Monday's triumph. "I think that kid has earned the right to be out on the floor and he's waited, he's been patient," McMillan told reporters. "I've talked about how tough it is to play a 10-man rotation, but we may have to look at that, look at a way to get him out on the floor. He's doing some really good things for us. I love the energy, I love the intensity he brings to the floor." Holiday totaled five points in the first 15 games of the season and did not get off the bench in 10 of those contests.
ABOUT THE HORNETS (8-8): Walker is 35-of-59 from the floor over the last two games, including 13-of-27 from beyond the arc. "For the most part, I've just been working on my game," Walker told reporters. "I come in here every night and get shots up, work on my game to make sure I'm staying as ready as possible for these kinds of moments. My teammates were looking for me, my coaching staff, they put me in great situations to score the basketball and, you know, I've just been making some shots." Walker's recent performances lifted him into the lead in the NBA in scoring at an average of 29.6 points.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Hornets SG Malik Monk is 3-of-26 from the floor over the last four games, including 0-of-16 from beyond the arc.
2. Pacers PF Domantas Sabonis handed out a season-high nine assists to go with 19 points and nine rebounds on Monday.
3. Walker averaged 22.8 points in four games against Indiana last season, winning twice.
PREDICTION: Pacers 120, Hornets 116