Hornets lose but definitely play with better effort and energy

The New Orleans Hornets didn?t come away with the win against the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night, but they certainly played with better than they did during Wednesday?s loss 103-87 home loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.

That had everything to do with the all-around energy and effort displayed against the top team in the Western Conference.

?It was a big night for us, we wanted come out and compete and let that Laker game go a little bit,? said guard Brian Roberts. ?The motto tonight was to give what you feel and I think the bench guys came and we competed and that?s what coach wants.?

The Hornets made a remarkable turnaround in the third quarter, which has been their Achilles Heel. Instead of wilting as they did after halftime against the Lakers, the Hornets used their reserves to eat away after their deficit and outscore the Grizzlies 27-20 in the third quarter.

?We played hard,? said Jason Smith, who had 14 points and five rebounds off the bench ?I think everybody bought into the system tonight and made a conscious effort after halftime to really bring it. We had a lull in the second quarter where they hit a lot of shots but we couldn?t let that get us down. ?

Hornets coach Monty Williams was definitely pleased his young team played better down the stretch, fighting back from a 14-point deficit to close within one point late in the game. But the big shots down the stretch by Rudy Gay & Co. ultimately proved too much as the Grizzlies pulled away for the 96-89 win at New Orleans Arena.

?It was close to the right effort,? said Williams, whose team has dropped two straight four of its last five games. ?We compete; we played hard ? if we could add some execution that complements the effort.

?I?m proud of how we competed, but my heart aches because you lost a game you had a chance to win.?

The hope is that the Hornets can take some of the carryover from Friday night?s game into Saturday?s road game against defending NBA champions the Miami Heat.

?It would have been nice to get this win but I think all of the guys are encouraged because we felt good about how we played,? Roberts said. ?We can?t really go by results all of the time. We feel like if we compete every night we are going to be in the game.

?It?s a good momentum even though we didn?t get the game. We?ve got to get ready to get one tomorrow hopefully.?

Source: http://www.nola.com/hornets/index.ssf/2012/12/hornets_lose_but_definitely_pl.html

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