Charlotte Hornets entered the court, after playing back-to-back, most recently in Denver yesterday. They’ve lost 11 straight games so far, facing the Sacramento Kings with many of their star players. But it did not matter today. They won against the Kings, as the Hornets took advantage of their season-high turnovers with a 111-104 win at the Golden 1 Center. To some, it seemed that the Kings could build up on their recent victory from Sunday against the Memphis Grizzlies, but to everyone’s surprise, the Hornets emerged like a phoenix, bullying the Kings’ squad. After all, for the Hornets, today’s victory meant a lot, after not having won even a single game since December 11, 2023.

What stood out the most was their point guard, Terry Rozier. He was “probable” to play tonight but was given the clearance to play with an illness. After the match, speaking with reporters, we hear Rozier wasn’t ready to acknowledge he was sick. His power-packed performance did not do justice to telling the world that he indeed played a “flu game” tonight.

With 34 points, 3 rebounds, and 6 assists, he drove the team to their first victory in ages, bringing out his inner Michael Jordan a little too late! Almost 4 months after Jordan let go of the Hornets’ franchise, Terry led the team strong enough to a late comeback during the fourth quarter. He scored 14 of his total 34 points in the final minutes, which is when the team went 12 of 16, i.e. 75%, from the field in the last quarter, which led to the Kings losing focus and their competitive defense.

This is what he said to the reporter, Ashley ShahAhmadi in an interview post-game: “We came in, after last night’s loss, you know, we came in with focus, and we got the win, so that’s the most important thing about tonight”. He further added, “We know it’s going to turn for us. Maybe this game is going to be the one to turn it around for us, so hopefully we can keep it going.”

What was surprising here is that despite Terry revealing he threw up and hasn’t been feeling well for the past couple of days, he, along with his entire team led by their coach, kept pushing forward to get that one win! They did not lose their focus. His high-spirited nature tonight does remind us all of Michael Jordan’s flu game from years ago.

Michael Jordan’s flu game

In the 90’s, Michael Jordan had already achieved too many milestones. There was no way he could expand and add to the huge numbers he had achieved in the decade. It was 1997 when MJ was struggling to lead the Chicago Bulls in Game 5 against the Utah Jazz, all while fighting the signs of food poisoning.

Read More: “I Couldn’t Breathe, I Played Myself Into Passing Out”: The Story of Michael Jordan and His Unbelievable Flu Game

Reportedly, Jordan was injected with painkillers and fluids during half-time. He willed himself to lead the team to a 90-88 victory, while scoring 38 points alone and a powerful 3-pointer with just 25 seconds remaining on the clock. After the game, Jordan said, “Probably the most difficult thing I’ve ever done. I almost played myself into passing out, just to win a basketball game”. 

Truly stepping into the previous Hornets’ owner’s shoes, Terry did just that. He led the team to a glorious victory tonight, and if Jordan was still an owner of the team, he would see history repeat itself right in front of his eyes!

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