By Matt Rochinski, hornets.com
VIDEOS: Walker vs. Kings (11/23) | Hornets vs. Wizards (11/25) | Walker vs. Cavs (11/27) | Walker vs. Bucks (11/29)
A wild week for Kemba Walker almost started out with a whimper instead of a bang, but as good leaders do, Walker wasn't about to let it happen.
On Nov. 23, as the Hornets trailed the Sacramento Kings 91-69 with 2:24 remaining in the third quarter and riding a five-game winning streak on their home court, Walker refused to lay down.
Instead, he took control.
Walker played arguably the best 12-minute stretch of his career for the Charlotte franchise, scoring 21 points in the decisive fourth quarter on 9-of-10 shooting (90.0 percent) from the field, including 3-of-3 (100.0 percent) from long range, to go with four rebounds, one assist and a blocked shot. That effort was good enough to erase the 22-point deficit and force overtime, where Walker chipped in four more points, one rebound and another block on the way to the second-largest comeback in Charlotte NBA basketball history.
Walker's final line - a season-high 39 points on a career-best 16-of-23 shooting (69.7 percent) from the field, six rebounds, five assists, two steals and three blocks. In a historic night for Walker, he also passed David Wesley in all-time three-point field goals in franchise history and now stands alone in third place with 397.
“We were down 22 and maybe played the worst game we’ve played this year," Nicolas Batum said of what started the Hornets comeback. "We just came back and played our hardest and played defense… (Kemba) played a great game. He didn’t give up. He saw this as a wakeup call and we all followed him, so that was a great win for us.”
Two nights later, Walker and the Hornets were at it again at the Hive.
After watching a six-point advantage late in the third quarter turn into a seven-point deficit heading to the fourth thanks to a 13-0 Washington Wizards run to close the frame, it was time for Walker to step in again.
“Kemba said to me, 'We have to get the fans behind us, we have to get the fans behind us,'" Al Jefferson said after the game. "We started making the right plays, and once the fans started getting into it, we shot off like a rocket.”
After falling behind 85-76 just over two minutes into the fourth, Charlotte blasted its way to a 25-0 run and would come away with a 101-87 victory helped by 16 points, five assists, two rebounds and two blocked shots from Walker, keeping the home streak alive with seven-straight wins.
"Some of these games have been crazy lately, but we’re very resilient and a competitive group," Walker said in his season-long blog. "You can see that when we get down – we try our best not to get rattled and just play the game. It’s never over until the clock hits zero, so we just try our best to stay aggressive… Our fans have been nothing short of great, giving us great energy throughout the whole game, and we need that. It’s really important and I hope they understand how important it is."
The Hornets nearly pulled off another home win with the Cavaliers in town on Nov. 27, as Walker put together his eighth-consecutive double-digit scoring game, leading Charlotte with 18 points and adding four rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks. Walker also tallied the 1,606th assist of his career in the second quarter, passing Baron Davis for the fourth-most all-time in Charlotte NBA history.
Walker capped off a wild week by getting Charlotte back on the winning track with an 87-82 victory over Milwaukee on Nov. 29 in his 300th career game for Charlotte, becoming the 12th player to reach this milestone. Walker paced the Hornets with a game-high 22 points and added three assists, three steals and two rebounds in the win. He also hit the game-clinching floater with 24 seconds remaining to put Charlotte up 85-80 and seal the victory.
Over the course of the week, Walker put up averages of 23.8 points (third in the Eastern Conference), including an NBA-best 10.0 points in the fourth quarter among players who participated in four games in that span, while no other NBA player came within 3.0 points of him. He was big in the clutch, too, shooting 63.0 percent from the field and 57.1 percent from the three-point line in the fourth quarter. He also added 4.3 assists, 3.5 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 2.0 blocks as he filled the stat sheet all week.
"It was a great month for us," Walker said after the Bucks game marked the first 10-win November in franchise history. "We got 10 wins, guys are feeling confident and we want to keep playing at the level we're playing at right now. Guys are playing really well, we just have to keep working."
Especially if the Hornets want to end things with a bang.
Key Matchup vs. the Bulls: P.J. Hairston vs. Jimmy Butler
Charlotte will need a superb defensive effort from P.J. Hairston in order to contain one of the NBA”s feistiest and most well-rounded players in the Bulls’ Jimmy Butler when the Hornets head to Chicago on Saturday night… Although only averaging 4.2 points and 2.2 rebounds this season, Hairston has greatly upped his play as a defender and has held his own against talented opposing scorers this season like Carmelo Anthony, Bradley Beal and Wes Matthews… Charlotte will be hoping not to see another big night from Butler, who is averaging 26.5 points against the Hornets in two games so far this year… Butler continues to build on his breakout 2014-15 campaign with career highs in points (20.3) and assists (3.4) along with 5.1 rebounds so far this season… Saturday night’s outcome could more than likely be determined by how effective P.J. Hairston and the rest of the Hornets can be in defending Chicago’s star shooting guard, Jimmy Butler.
Key Matchup vs. the Pistons: Cody Zeller vs. Andre Drummond
With Al Jefferson sidelined, Charlotte’s Cody Zeller will get his first true test as the team’s starting center on Monday night when the Hornets’ play host to Andre Drummond and the Detroit Pistons… Like Hairston, Zeller has also improved as a defender and although his numbers have been spotty this season (6.8 points and 4.9 rebounds), the increased playing time could help get things going for the former Indiana Hoosier… Zeller will have an immense task in trying to contain Detroit’s Drummond, who is having a monstrous season for the Pistons… Drummond is posting career bests in points (18.6) and rebounds (16.7), the latter of which is currently the highest in the NBA… If Zeller can move Drummond out of the paint and win his fair share of rebounding battles against the NBA leader, the Hornets could be in great position to knock off the Pistons when they square off in Charlotte on Monday night.