CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Hornets owner Michael Jordan said it was a "tap of endearment."After watching a bizarre ending to Charlotte's win against Detroit on Wednesday, a bewildered Jordan lightly smacked the back of second-year guard Malik Monk's head in closing seconds of the game.Jordan told The Associated Press Thursday via text message through his spokeswoman Estee Portnoy there was no malicious intent when he playfully smacked Monk on the back of his head."It was like a big brother and little brother tap," Jordan told the AP. "No negative intent. Only love!"Monk and teammate Bismack Biyombo ran from the bench on to the court to celebrate as Jeremy Lamb launched a 22-footer game-winning shot with 0.3 seconds left. Officials gathered at the scorer's table and assessed the Hornets a one-shot technical foul for having six men on the floor."Big, big, big brother," Monk said with a laugh Thursday. "But it was nothing. He was just playing."Monk went on to say, "it's Mike, and whatever he does... [More]

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Hornets owner Michael Jordan says lightly smacking the back of second-year guard Malik Monk's head in closing seconds of Wednesday night's win against the Pistons was a "tap of endearment."Monk and teammate Bismack Biyombo ran from the bench on to the court to celebrate as Jeremy Lamb launched a 22-footer game-winning shot with 0.3 seconds left. Officials gathered at the scorer's table and assessed the Hornets a one-shot technical foul for having six men on the floor.Jordan told The Associated Press Thursday there was no malicious intent when he playfully smacked Monk on the back of his head.The Hornets owner, says "It was like a big brother and little brother tap. No negative intent. Only love!"The Pistons made the one technical foul shot, but Lamb's basket was allowed to stand and the Hornets won 108-107.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Hornets owner Michael Jordan says lightly smacking the back of second-year guard Malik Monk's head in closing seconds of Wednesday night's win against the Pistons was a "tap of endearment."Monk and teammate Bismack Biyombo ran from the bench on to the court to celebrate as Jeremy Lamb launched a 22-footer game-winning shot with 0.3 seconds left. Officials gathered at the scorer's table and assessed the Hornets a one-shot technical foul for having six men on the floor.Jordan told the Associated Press Thursday there was no malicious intent when he playfully smacked Monk on the back of his head.The Hornets owner, says "It was like a big brother and little brother tap. No negative intent. Only love!"The Pistons made the technical, but Lamb's basket was allowed to stand and the Hornets won 108-107.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Charlotte Hornets are looking to change their style of play.The Hornets have been working with a 12-second play clock since the summer under first-year coach James Borrego in an effort to dramatically improve their pace of play. Borrego believes he has a team that is athletic enough — and fast enough — to push the ball up the floor to get more easy baskets, more open looks and create open 3-pointers.It's been a challenge for the players, but they say they're adapting well."It was interesting for me that first day, to say the least," said veteran forward Marvin Williams of the 12-second shot clock.Williams joked that at first the Hornets were running down the court and simply launching 3-pointers without much passing. But that changed as they got used to playing at an increased pace.The Hornets have grown to like Borrego's offense."We've been moving the ball well," said shooting guard Jeremy Lamb. "Some nights I score. Some nights Kemba (Walker) scores. Some nights... [More]

G Jeremy Lamb led the Hornets with a career-high 32 points Wednesday. "My teammates put me in great positions to score and I was able to knock shots down," Lamb said. "But we were down 20 the whole game, so it doesn't really mean much. We've just got to play better. It's tough. You want to come out and play well, but it doesn't feel good when you don't win."

G Jeremy Lamb scored 15 points Saturday.

G Jeremy Lamb was lost in the first half on Friday night in a game against the Bulls with a shin contusion.

G Jeremy Lamb scored 24 points in Wednesday's win."That was a huge win," Lamb said. "It was a team effort. We were down in the fourth and we just came together on both ends and it was a great win for us."It was exciting. The fans were amazing. It was a packed house. Like I said, we rallied together, it got loud and we were able to come back. We just stayed in attack mode the whole game. So that was a great overtime win. It feels good."Lamb was 9 of 17 from the field and was a plus-26 in the plus-minus when he was on the floor.

G Jeremy Lamb scored 17 points in Saturday's win over the Los Angeles Clippers.

G Jeremy Lamb led all scorers with career-high 27 points for the Hornets (5-4), who had a three-game winning streak snapped."I got some shots to go down and my teammates put me in some great spots but it doesn't feel good when you lose," Lamb said. "We will watch some film and learn from this. We made some crucial turnovers late in the third quarter when the Spurs were able to get out and make some easy layups. Then the 3-pointers at the end were backbreakers. Mills hit some tough, contested shots."

G Jeremy Lamb added 17 to help lead the Hornets.

G Jeremy Lamb added 17 points Monday.

G Jeremy Lamb came off the bench to score a team-high 21 points Tuesday in the Hornets' loss at Atlanta.

G Jeremy Lamb led the Hornets with a career-high 26 points, starting in place of Nicolas Batum, who was out due to a migraine.

G Jeremy Lamb was active but didn't play Friday night after missing the last seven games with an inflamed metatarsal.

G Jeremy Lamb was not with the team because of a metatarsal inflammation.

G Jeremy Lamb added 13 points for Charlotte, which has lost four of its past five games.

G Jeremy Lamb was questionable because of a rib cage strain suffered on Friday night against Boston, but was able to play.

G Jeremy Lamb scored 14 points off the bench, including a 3-pointer with 13.5 seconds left to thwart a final push by the Mavs.

G Jeremy Lamb scored a season-high 21 points on 7-for-11 shooting with nine rebounds as Charlotte defeated Memphis 104-85 Monday. Lamb's performance was also a nice encore to his 18-point, 17-rebound game in a win over the Knicks on Saturday. "I'm just trying to bring energy, that's what you want to do off the bench," Lamb said. "It's a long season. This is just two games. I gotta continue to focus and stay at it."