It was in the fourth quarter and the guy who almost single-handedly won a game earlier in the season with a late surge found himself on the floor in the waning seconds.
Except Ish Smith hadn’t been summoned to ignite the Charlotte Hornets on this particular occasion, a night they were missing their starting center due to a calf strain. Smith was on the court with two first-round picks who’ve quickly become fan favorites, basically getting in a light run since the outcome was locked up with the Hornets running past Minnesota 133-115 at Spectrum Center for their eighth win in their past nine games.