Brandon Miller gets first career start as Charlotte Hornets finish road trip in Dallas

Brandon Miller is about to get his first career start as a pro.

With Terry Rozier unavailable for Sunday night’s game, the Charlotte Hornets are turning to their prized rookie to step into the game-opening backcourt lineup alongside LaMelo Ball when they conclude their three-game road trip against Dallas at American Airlines Center.

Miller has served as the Hornets’ sixth man in their first five games. He enters Sunday night fifth on the team in scoring, averaging 14.4 points along with 5.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. He’s shooting 38.1% from 3-point range and has knocked down 48.1% of his overall attempts from the field.

Rozier, the Hornets’ leading scorer at 22 points per game, injured his groin in the fourth quarter of Saturday night’s win. He required assistance to get off the court and didn’t return. He’ll have two more full days to heal up before seeing if he can go against Washington at Spectrum Center on Wednesday night.

Hornets hold on late in Indiana, end losing streak

Even in a slump-busting win, the Charlotte Hornets might have still lost in a way.

With Terry Rozier unavailable in crunch time due to a groin injury, the Hornets made just enough plays down the stretch to pull out a 125-124 victory against the Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Saturday night.

And it was their struggling star point guard who made the biggest play of the game.

LaMelo Ball’s huge steal of Tyrese Haliburton in the closing seconds helped the Hornets halt their three-game losing streak and emerge victorious for the first time since opening night.

“That’s a game that can go with the momentum thing (from a) 10-, 15- (point lead to) all of the sudden you are out of the game,” Gordon Hayward said. “So, (it’s good), the fact that we hung young and stayed with it.”

Here are some of the notable things the Hornets (2-3) said after their victory against Indiana:

Terry Rozier injury

Chalk up another frustrating ailment that will bear monitoring.

Terry Rozier injured his groin in the fourth quarter, coming up extremely gimpy to the point where he crumpled to the floor and required assistance to get off the court. Rozier was just simply trying to dribble past Aaron Nesmith when he began grabbing himself in pain

Rozier had to be helped by Joe Sharpe, the Hornets’ director of healthcare and sports performance, to the locker room and didn’t return. His availability for Sunday’s game in Dallas is likely in serious question and could put rookie Brandon Miller in line for his first start if he can’t go.

“Listen, he’s such an important part of our team,” Clifford said. “A great leader, competitor. So, hopefully we’ll get good news (Sunday).”

Gordon Hayward homecoming

Perhaps Gordon Hayward was inspired by a little home cooked food.

With his parents watching in the stands, the Indiana native turned in his best overall performance of the young season, pumping in 23 points to go with six rebounds, three assists and a pair of blocks. He was aggressive and did it in a variety of ways, tossing in layups and maneuvering for pull up jumpers.

It shouldn’t be any surprise Hayward had a good game against the Pacers (3-3) in a Hornets’ uniform. Heading into the game, Hayward averaged 23 points — shooting 53.8% and 35.7% from 3-point range — 4.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.8 steals per game in his previous four outings versus Indiana.

Hayward, who was born in Indianapolis and grew up nearby in Brownsburg, has now won seven straight games against Indiana. He was feeling it.

“Some of those shots I’ve (done) working out (as) summertime shots,” Hayward said. “It was something I had to take advantage of. I was able to get a couple to go early and get that rhythm. And it certainly felt pretty good.”

Hornets’ block party

Something changed for the Hornets defensively. For a half anyway.

Buoyed by the nine first-half blocks they recorded, which was just two shy the franchise’s all-time mark for most swatted shots in a half, the Hornets seemed to be more determined to impose their will on the Pacers through the initial two quarters.

Six of the nine Hornets who saw action blocked at least one shot. But they had issues controlling Haliburton, who was a one-man wrecking crew with 43 points. And the Hornets will need more of an all-around performance defensively to complement an offense that’s built to put up points in transition.

“If you want to have a team that can be successful late in the year and in the playoffs you have to be good at everything,” Clifford said. “Most teams that go deep in the playoffs are say top 10, top 15 in defense and offense and most teams that win it (the NBA championship) are top 10 in both.”

Clifford pointed to.the teams that squared off in the NBA Finals in June.

“Last year Denver was balanced, Miami wasn’t balanced during the regular season but was super-balanced during the playoffs. And that’s what the difference was. They shot the ‘3’ better in the playoffs and their defense went from being not really typical of Miami team, and in the playoffs it was.”