After Anthony Davis tied up the Pelicans-Hornets game at 94 with 18 seconds left, anyone who has watched the Hornets this year had to know which player was taking the game-winning shot. Kemba Walker has two other game-winners this year, and he added a third against the Pelicans with a difficult bank-shot plus the foul with a second remaining in Charlotte’s eventual 98-94 win.
Kemba hit the game-tying three-pointer and eventual game-winner against the Bucks at the begining of the year. That one even got owner Michel Jordan amped. Then he hit a buzzer-beating layup to take down the Knicks early in December.
Now this, a difficult bank shot while getting fouled by Jrue Holiday:
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The Hornets are only 13-24 on the year, which means Kemba’s directly accounted for a little over 23 percent of their victories this year. He’s got exactly 3.0 offensive win shares so far this season, like they just hand them out for game-winners.
Kemba’s still below 40 percent from the field on the year — 39.7 — but he’s become something of a performer in the final seconds.
Walker finished with a team-high 31 points (12/24) after connecting on the free throw after the winning bucket, and the Hornets escaped a monster performance by Anthony Davis — 32 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks — for the win.
(H/T Mike Prada)
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