The Charlotte Hornets got back into the win column Tuesday night, returning back to Charlotte to defeat the Washington Wizards after falling to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a close matchup Monday night.
Against Cleveland Monday, Charlotte's offense was able to score 132 points on 50% shooting from three-point range, but 20 turnovers and 31 points allowed off of turnovers ended up swinging the game in Cleveland's favor as Charlotte lost by seven.
Although defense seemed to be a problem for the Hornets in the first half Tuesday night (allowing 65 1H points), the Charlotte defense locked down Washington in the second half, surrendering just 44 points in the final two quarters.
After outscoring the Wizards 34-19 in the final frame, Charlotte earned a 17-point victory.
Once again Moussa Diabate showed tremendous energy when on the floor. With Ryan Kalkbrenner having missed Monday and Tuesday's games due to an elbow sprain, Diabate has made the most of his recent opportunities.
In Monday's game against Cleveland, Diabate posted five points, 14 rebounds and six steals. Tuesday against the Wizards, he followed up with an even stronger showing, a double-double with 12 points and 18 rebounds.
Of those 18 boards, eight of them came on the offensive glass. At 14.4%, Diabate has the fourth highest offensive rebounding percentage in the NBA, trailing only Steven Adams, Donovan Clingan and Yves Missi.
With Kalkbrenner having been listed as questionable ahead of Tuesday's game, he'll be likely to return in tandem with Diabate when Charlotte plays their next game Dec. 26 following Christmas break.
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