Yeah, it was a good game. Came close to beating them in the 4th but didn't. Rohan will put up a real recap [see bottom of this post - R], but I'll add some pics with some snarky comments cause that's how I roll (and I'm really tired)

The team was together

via assets.sbnation.com

Trevor Ariza was back and somehow put our offense to shame by outscoring everyone except Jarrett Jack

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Marco Bellinelli went 1-5 from three

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Gustavo Ayon played 13 minutes and looked good despite not putting up many stats (for the record, I believe I'm the first person in all of Yahoo that added him to his fantasy team. true story!)

He looks like Jason Biggs in this photo. Strange.

via assets.sbnation.com

Hornets tied it up in the 4th and then turned it over so many times, the fans were getting more stats than the players. Memphis won. Many beers were drank (and one poor fan had Marc Gasol land on them).

The end. See you in the morning.

[UPDATE, from Rohan] -

Don't have enough time for a full recap, so I'll just tack some thoughts on here in addition to Matt's photos.

- As much as we've been critical of Jarrett Jack being too much of a one-dimensional scorer and not looking for others enough, I actually thought the opposite was true tonight. In the fourth quarter especially, Jack was feeling it, but he passed up open (range) looks on three different occasions to swing the ball to Trevor Ariza or Marco Belinelli. I dig the unselfishness, especially on Ariza's return to the starting lineup, but when you connect on 11 of 15 looks, you're well within your rights to keep firing away.

- Before his injury, we saw a "new" Ariza offensively - one that slashed, cut, and took to the rim aggressively. Early signs on his return are that that may yet be the Ariza we get for the rest of the season. If you can look past his 5 turnover line, Ariza scored 18 points on 13 shots with 5 rebounds, 4 steals, and 7 (!) assists. The transition certainly helped, but if Ariza can be a positive offensive player (like he once was!) in addition to his defense, I'm not going to know what to do with myself.

- Disappointed that Monty Williams went with Jason Smith over Gustavo Ayon in the closing minutes. It was costly. Smith fumbled away a huge rebound at the 50 second mark, one that allowed Memphis an extra play with which they salted away the game. Ayon took just two shots in 13 minutes.

- Speaking of Ayon, I also really loved the European soccer style "ole" chant the Arena did for him. I heard it most prominently during his jump ball in the fourth quarter (which he won but Ariza couldn't control), but I'm sure Matt/Will/others can point out if it was used in other places as well.

- It was another very quiet night from Greivis Vasquez, something that's becoming more and more common of late. I'm not too worried yet (3 of his 5 missed shots were blocked), but he's certainly lost a little bit of the edge and aggression he showed in his first few games of the season.

- Just an awful, awful night for Emeka Okafor. The guy's been working hard on the glass and has been our best defender on the season, so I'm more than willing to simply let this one slide. Bad games - they happen. He'll have his hands full next time out though with Houston's Sam Dalembert, who has been staggeringly effective in the young season (127 offensive efficiency, or 25 points higher than league average).

- Good god, O.J. Mayo.

- Nice to see the three point shot vaguely make a comeback (5-12) although it was basically all Jack's doing (4-4). This was such a close game that none of the traditional four factors that account for winning (floor percentage, rebounding rate, turnover rate, free throw rate) singlehandedly put Memphis over the top. Rather, the Grizzlies marginally outperformed us in all four areas. It was a decidedly slow game too at 84 possessions.

Hey there, your intrepid ATH photographer here. I'm no writer like Will or Rohan, but I've been noticing something of a pattern that I wanted to share. I sat right behind the Hornets bench tonight and it reinforced what I noticed in previous games.

As you can see from the box scores, the Hornets get consistently outscored in the 4th, often leading to losses. Tonight in Denver was no different: 1 point lead going into the 4th, lots of fewer points than our opponents at the end. What I've noticed is a body language going into the 4th that doesn't exist in other quarters. Some teams have a noticeable attitude that you pick up off them. The Lakers, no matter what the score, start the 4th with a 'we got this handled' attitude.

The Hornets put off an attitude of confusion. It's not fear, confidence or apathy. They simply don't look like they know what to do next. The best example would be that they look like they were already in the locker room trying to decide what to have for dinner when they got home when they got pulled out to play another quarter. If you watch their movements, there is no urgency or confidence. There are no set plays they are trying to execute. They pass the ball around to whoever happens to be open until late in the shot clock and then put up a contested shot. They usually get some rhythm at some point and make some baskets, but it's a short lived rally. The defense is usually not up to its earlier effectiveness either.

I'm not harping on Monty here, but this is a coaching issue. The team should be on fire coming into the 4th, but they clearly aren't. Whatever is happening between the third and fourth quarters needs to change.