CHARLOTTE — After torching his former team with a precise and prolific scoring outburst, Nicolas Batum strolled down the back hallways of Time Warner Cable Arena and ducked into a tiny room for a live interview on NBATV.
Just before he reached the door, someone mockingly fanned him with a box score, as if he needed cooling off, and another shouted out loud: "The Nicolas Batum revenge game?"
"No," he replied, smirking and shaking his head. "No."
It sure looked like it. Batum bludgeoned the Trail Blazers Sunday night with a barrage of hot shooting and cool playmaking, carrying the Charlotte Hornets to a 106-94 victory before 15,317.