WASHINGTON, D.C. — Terry Rozier scored a season-high 32 points and hit his eighth three-pointer of the game with 12.9 seconds left as the Charlotte Hornets beat the Washington Wizards 109-103 on Monday night.
LaMelo Ball had 28 points and 13 rebounds to help Charlotte win its last six of seven — including two over Washington in the last week.
“I just need to have more days like that,” Rozier said after his best offensive performance of the season.
Rozier had made just 2 of 16 3-pointers over the previous three games and entered Monday shooting 25.3% from deep on the season — his worst mark since his rookie campaign in 2015-16 when he hit 22.2%.
Rozier averaged a career-best 20.4 points last season but saw that number dip to 14.7 before Monday’s game.
“I’m never going to doubt myself,” Rozier said. “I never pay attention to my percentages, I just play.”
Montrezl Harrell scored 24 points and had a season-high 18 rebounds for the Wizards, while Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had 17 points, Bradley Beal scored 18 and Kyle Kuzma had 11 points and 13 rebounds.
The Wizards had trailed by as many as 17 in the second half but used a late 7-0 rally to cut the deficit to 105-103 after a 3 by Caldwell-Pope with 51.6 seconds left.
Miles Bridges then missed a dunk but after a turnover by Harrell, the ball ended up back in Rozier’s hands. Rozier, who made his first six 3s of the night, made his last to finish 8 for 11 from beyond the arc.
“He’s huge for us,” Hornets coach James Borrego said about Rozier’s impact. “He’s in a lot of ways the heartbeat of this team. He hit big shots early and, obviously, he hit big shots late.”
Charlotte made 15 of 31 three-pointers while Washington, which had a four-game home winning streak snapped, was just 9 of 36.
The Hornets next play Wednesday in Orlando.
