The Charlotte Hornets walked into Wednesday night with a chance to stop the bleeding, and for a half it looked like they might actually do it. Brooklyn had only one win coming in, Charlotte had a seven-point cushion at the break, and the Hornets were in position to snap a four-game losing streak.
Then the second half happened.
Charlotte let the lead slip away and fell 114-104, a loss that extends the skid to five straight and leaves plenty of frustration behind after what looked like a workable setup at halftime. The Hornets were up 24-21 after one quarter and then put up 33 more in the second to take a 57-50 lead into the locker room, even with some uneven shooting across the roster.
Brooklyn’s offense, though, kept climbing. The Nets outscored Charlotte 30-23 in the third quarter to erase the deficit and tie the game at 80 heading into the fourth, then put up 34 in the final period to finish the job. Charlotte simply didn’t have enough to answer once the game turned.
Naz Reid was a major problem for the Hornets all night. He hit 11 of 18 shots and finished with 28 points and nine rebounds.
Grayson Allen added 22 points, including five three-pointers, giving Brooklyn the kind of scoring punch Charlotte couldn’t fully contain. Michael Porter Jr. led the Nets with 26 points and 10 rebounds, Julius Randle scored 22, and Mikel Brown Jr. chipped in 18.
Charlotte also had to deal with losing Kon Knueppel before the first quarter ended. He left after six minutes because of soreness in his left leg and did not return. Knueppel finished with three points, and the Hornets had to play the rest of the night without him.
The shooting numbers from Charlotte’s key scorers tell the story of a night that never quite came together. Brandon Miller took 15 shots and made only two, including one three-pointer on 10 attempts, and finished with 10 points. Coby White wasn’t much more effective, going 2 for 9 and ending with four points.
There were still a few areas where Charlotte held up reasonably well. The Hornets outrebounded Brooklyn 41-38 and made 10 more free throws.
But the Nets shot better than 50% from the floor, scored 50 points in the paint, and took control once Charlotte’s offense dried up. The Hornets finished at 40.3% shooting and committed 17 turnovers, a combination that made the comeback effort impossible to sustain.
Charlotte had its opening. It just couldn’t hold onto it. At 3-6 now, the Hornets are left looking for a full four-quarter effort instead of another night where the first half looks promising and the second half turns into a missed opportunity.
In Other News...
Brandon Miller Just Stepped Into The Hornets Story Fans Feared
The Hornets have officially moved into a new era, and Brandon Miller is right at the center of it. Charlotte sent LaMelo Ball and Josh Green to Minnesota in a massive deal that brought back Naz Reid, a 2033 unprotected first-round pick, three future first-round pick swaps and three future second-round picks, a clear sign the organization is reshaping its future around a different core.
Jeff Peterson made sure Miller and Kon Knueppel heard the news before it went public, a small but telling detail about where the franchise is headed. Miller, who recently signed a five-year extension, is now one of the faces of the rebuild, while Knueppel is still working his way back from a leg injury, leaving Charlotte with a young foundation and plenty of unanswered questions about what comes next. [Read more 🡒]
Hornets Early Slide Is Making The LaMelo Ball Decision Look Risky
Charlottes rough start has quickly turned a promising-looking season into a source of unease, with the Hornets sitting at 3-6 and stuck near the bottom of the league offensively. The numbers tell the story as much as the eye test does: fewer than 105 points per game, the NBAs worst offensive rating and the leagues lowest field goal percentage, all while the team has looked disjointed enough to raise questions about how much patience remains for a roster that was supposed to take a step forward.
Kevin OConnor flagged the Hornets poor shooting efficiency and bad body language as part of the bigger concern, and the issues have only been magnified by injuries to Kon Knueppel and Brandon Millers uneven play relative to his contract. For a team already trying to prove it can build around LaMelo Ball, the early slide makes every decision feel heavier, especially when the offense is this stagnant and the margin for error is already shrinking. [Read more 🡒]
Hornets Linked Again To A Star Big Man They Once Passed On
Sacramentos willingness to listen on Domantas Sabonis has put a familiar name back into the rumor mill for Charlotte, which once had interest in the All-Star big man before talks went nowhere. The Hornets were among the teams circling Sabonis last season, but the deal never got close enough to finish, and now the broader market around him is shifting again as the Kings consider a rebuild.
For Charlotte, the appeal is obvious. The Hornets have been searching for more frontcourt stability, and Sabonis would instantly change the shape of their offense and rebounding profile. The question is whether the Hornets are ready to re-engage at a level that matches Sacramentos expectations, especially with both teams enduring uneven seasons that could push trade conversations back to the forefront. [Read more 🡒]