The Charlotte Hornets swept the season series with the Dallas Mavericks after beating them in two straight games, which might be a little surprising to read for some Hornets and Mavs fans. When a team features Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, who are two of the league's best offensive talents, you might be in for a long night. Despite Luka's 40 piece, Charlotte put together a good game on Sunday to beat the Mavs 110-104. No one on Buzz City wanted that one as bad as Dennis Smith Jr., who was a former lottery pick for Dallas a few years ago.
“I was super excited,” Smith said after beating them two games in a row. “I talked to the team when we got to Dallas, and they were like, ‘Oh yeah, they’re getting their guys back, they're getting their stars back,' whatever. I’m like, ‘They must be thinking it’s sweet or something. Let's go out there and try to put their a** in the dirt.” That was the goal in Dallas, and we tried to do the same thing today. … That’s all we said pregame: ‘Put their a** in the dirt. Straight like that. Came out and executed and got
two wins in a row.”
It has been a rough season for Charlotte, but this is a nice silver lining for their season. The Western Conference is tight and Dallas need every win they can get. Charlotte's mission should be to play spoiler to every team in that situation in both conferences. Kyrie Irving acknowledged this fact post game.
“When they beat us, its a big deal. Anytime a team goes against me specifically, but now also against Luka or Dallas Mavericks, the other team wants to beat them. It's a little personal and we gotta play with a toughness,” Irving said.
Irving also pointed out how the Hornets players and fans reacted after defeating Dallas, which was in excitement and jubilation. Why should somebody else be happy if you can't is the name of the game for teams that are lottery bound in the 2023 NBA Draft, like Charlotte. They should take pride in derailing someone's title hopes if nothing else.
The Mavs are 7-13 since trading for Irving, lost seven of their last 10 games, and lost four straight. You could visibly see the frustration coming from their players and coaches. After losing the first game against Charlotte, Luka Doncic expressed his frustration. He answered a lot of questions with “I don't know” and mentioned “I used to have fun, smiling on the court, but it's been so frustrating. For a lot of reasons, not just basketball.”
Hopefully Luka figures out his issues quickly, but the Hornets gutted out back-to-back wins against a scary team and didn't flinch. Dennis Smith Jr. and the Hornets are back on the road for their next game in Oklahoma City. Let's see if they can sabotage the Thunder's season next.
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