Kemba Walker hits 3rd game-winner of the season for Hornets
Charlotte Hornets point guard Kemba Walker can be an uneven player. He is the team’s biggest perimeter scoring threat but has shot just 39.7 percent from the floor for his 18.1 points per game, runs the offense decently but hasn’t managed more than 5.5 assists per contest, and could be overpaid when his contract extension kicks in next year. Walker is very important to the Hornets as currently constructed, but he has clear limits as a player.
Yet there’s no question that Kemba has a penchant for hitting big shots at the ends of games. He cultivated that reputation as a college star at Connecticut and has only built on it as a pro, hitting two game-winners already this season as the Hornets’ primary end-of-game scorer. When the game is on the line, the opponent needs to lock in on him.
Sometimes nothing can deter Walker from grabbing a win for his team, which we found out at the end of Wednesday’s home game against the New Orleans Pelicans. With seconds left and the score tied 94-94, Walker faced off against Jrue Holiday in isolation and took him straight to the hoop. Walker drew a foul and hit a runner to give his team the advantage:
Marvin Williams stole Ryan Anderson’s inbounds pass on the final possession and split a pair of free throws to finish off the 98-94 win for Charlotte.
Walker’s dramatic winner came just one offensive possession after he hit a stepback jumper over Anthony Davis to give the Hornets the lead. Davis (32 points, 12 rebounds, four blocks) matched him immeidately with a short basket in the lane, but he did not get the opportunity to send the game to overtime.
Walker scored 31 points on 12-of-24 shooting for his third-straight 30-point performance, all of which have been wins without the services of Al Jefferson and Lance Stephenson. The even better news is that Walker has improved his efficiency over that time, making more than 45 percent of his field goals. Perhaps he can find a way to be as good in the other 47 minutes as he is in the 48th.
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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
