Hornets sting Timberwolves prior to blockbuster trade with Heat

It has been a very eventful last 18 hours for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association. On Monday, they delivered one of their biggest upsets of the season in a 128-125 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, and then on Tuesday, made a blockbuster deal with the Miami Heat.

First, let’s take a look at the Charlotte win. The Hornets beat the Timberwolves despite the fact they entered the game at nine wins and 31 losses, and Minnesota was leading the West at 30 wins and 12 losses. Charlotte was led by small forward Miles Bridges of Flint, Michigan, who had 28 points. Meanwhile, point guard LaMelo Ball of Anaheim, California had a double double as he had 18 points and 13 assists.

However, the big story of the game was the fact that the Hornets won even though Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns set a franchise record for most points in a game with 62. Towns was one of two NBA players to have a monster Monday night. The other was Joel Embiid, who set a 76ers franchise record for most points in a game (70) in a 133-123 Philadelphia win over San Antonio.

Then on Tuesday, the Hornets and Heat made a significant trade. Charlotte traded shooting guard Terry Rozier of Youngstown, Ohio to the Miami Heat for a first round pick in either 2027 or 2028 and point guard Kyle Lowry of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is expected the Hornets will trade Lowry to a playoff contender before the trade deadline.

Rozier is joining his third NBA franchise. He was with the Boston Celtics from 2015 to 2019, and the Hornets from 2019 to 2024. This season, Rozier averaged 23.2 points per game, 6.6 assists per game, 3.9 rebounds per game, 1.1 steal per game, and a field goal percentage of .459, three-point percentage of .358, and a free throw percentage of .845.

Lowry was a six-time All-Star with the Toronto Raptors from 2015 to 2020. While with the Raptors, Lowry won the 2019 NBA Finals. In addition to playing with the Heat, he has played with the Memphis Grizzlies and Houston Rockets.