Game 16: A 118–102 win over the Timberwolves… featuring Sugar Creek’s Pale Ale
A dominant fourth quarter, Dwight Howard hitting free throws, and Frank Kaminsky rising to the occasion? I loved this game.
That might have been my favorite Hornets win of the year.
I’ll just start with that.
On Monday night, the 6–9 Charlotte Hornets faced off with the 10–6 Minnesota Timberwolves in an early-season revenge match: The T-Wolves stomped Buzz City by 18 just two weeks ago in what I then labeled the worst loss of the young season.
But this time, Charlotte was the team doing the stomping, as a boring-for-three-quarters game was far from boring in the fourth, and finally for a good reason this time. The Hornets showed up, and their opposition collapsed.
A 16-point win against the team that beat us by 18… that’ll do. The game was even (and boring) through the first three quarters. Charlotte outscored Minnesota in every frame, but just barely: 26–24, 29–28, and 29–28.
But in the fourth, the Timberwolves (who gave up a late lead to Detroit the night before to lose by 3) looked absolutely gassed, and they couldn’t do anything to stop Coach Clifford’s offense. The score in the fourth: Hornets 34, T-Wolves 22.
Hack-a-Dwight didn’t work down the stretch for Tom Thibodeau’s boys either, as Superman made 9 of 14 free throws on his way to a dominant 25 point, 20 rebound game.
Frank Kaminsky showed up too, scoring nine in the fourth on his way to a season-high 24 points. At one point, he cut inside to take a pass from Dwayne Bacon and dunked it, and I couldn’t help but scream and wake up my sleeping wife (she’s a CMS teacher, 8pm bedtimes are our norm).
The second unit led the way in the fourth as well, something I love to see. The starters loved it too, cheering them on throughout, and especially celebrating a Cody Zeller three with 16 seconds left in regulation. The smiles on the faces of this team that just recently lost six in a row were priceless.
118–102 was the final. So. much. fun.
As for the beer selection tonight, I went back to the Sugar Creek Brewing Company well in hopes of finding something better than their undrinkable Raspberry White Ale. I did… their basic Pale Ale was a solid selection.
Here’s how they describe it: “A multicultural fusion combining American and European styles. This ale, brewed with imported Belgian specialty malts supported by a traditional English floor malt backbone, is hopped with some of America’s most popular whole-cone hop varieties yielding a surprisingly refreshing and well-balanced Pale Ale. Pronounced hop-flavors of fruit, citrus, pine and grapefruit balance a caramelized toastiness from our unique malt combination appealing to both hop-heads and malt-lovers alike. Expect a medium-bodied ale with a dry finish that will lend itself to easy drinking any time of year.”
Pretty wordy, that. Their website says their Pale Ale won a silver medal at the Alltech Commonwealth Cup… but for that description and winning an award, it didn’t do much for me. Not to say it was bad, it just… was.
Refreshing, sure. Well-balanced, yes. Pronounced flavors? Meh. Medium body and dry finish for easy drinking, absolutely that.
For my purposes, I’m going to put it there with the OMB Captain Jack at 6/10 Muggsys. As I said in that review, “Nothing special, nothing bad about it. Won’t be my go-to, but a decent Charlotte beer.” Seems about right here too. (And when compared to the 1/10 rating for the Raspberry White, that’s a huge improvement.)
Up next for the Hornets is their first meeting of the year with the division rival Wizards. Washington has started the season strong and sit at 10–7 coming into Wednesday night’s game at the Spectrum Center. Bradley Beal has led the team so far this season with 24.2 ppg, and no real changes to their roster this summer make Wall, Porter and company familiar foes.
We should be able to take these guys.
I’ll finish off this round of Sugar Creek brews with their IPA on Wednesday before moving on to Unknown after Thanksgiving. Hope all of y’all have a great holiday week. Buzzzzzz.
