A prolonged hot streak earned the Charlotte Hornets a spot in the NBA playoffs. Now they’re slipping a bit as the postseason looms.
Marcin Gortat had 21 points and 13 rebounds as the Washington Wizards defeated the Hornets, 113-98, on Sunday, damaging Charlotte’s chances to secure home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
The Hornets (46-34) are 29-14 since mid-January but have now lost three of five.
“We played two months of really, really good basketball and we have two games here to get back to that,” coach Steve Clifford said after his team dropped its third consecutive road game.