The Charlotte Hornets took a commanding double-digit lead over the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night, due in large part to Terry Rozier.
One might say Rozier unveiled his “Scary Terry” side in front of the Milwaukee crowd.
The former Boston Celtics guard had himself a red-hot start to lead the Hornets against the second-best Eastern Conference team. Rozier led the way with 25 points and shot 10-for-17 from the field with two assists before the break. He also connected on 5-of-11 shots from beyond the arc and headed to the locker room with a game-leading plus-26 rating.
While Rozier’s first half performance was impressive alone, it paid dividends for more than just himself. In fact, the Hornets set a record-breaking mark for the most points (84) in a first half in franchise history, according to ESPN Stats & Info.
While Rozier could easily take the majority of the credit, the Hornets as a whole had no trouble connecting on shots. Charlotte netted 33-of-56 (58.9%) shot attempts and 14-of-30 (46.7%) 3-pointers in the first half. Aside from the historical attachment, this came as a major surprise. The Hornets entered the contest as the NBA’s worst 3-point shooting team, having connected on 32.1% of their attempts through 39 games.
The 28-year-old has had a pretty prototypical year in his fourth campaign with the Hornets. Before Friday night, Rozier averaged 20.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and a career-best 5.3 assists in 29 games. He’s also shot 39.5% from the field and 31.4% from 3-point territory on a career-high 19.1 shot attempts per game.
Former NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, on the other hand, was far from his usual self to start. Antetokounmpo scored just six points and shot 1-of-4 from the field with three turnovers in 15 minutes. That ugly start notched a minus-23 rating which was the worst of anyone who took the floor.
After Charlotte got out to an 84-60 halftime lead, it went on to notch a 138-109 win with Rozier finishing with 39 points.
