Charlotte had Saturday night in its hands, and that’s what made the 109-104 loss to Philadelphia sting so much.
The Hornets weren’t climbing out of a deep early deficit or chasing the game from behind. They were in control late, up seven with 3:41 left, and had already done enough to make a win feel close to sealed.
Then the whole thing slipped away. Philadelphia closed with 15 of the final 18 points, and by Sunday morning the question still lingered: how did Charlotte let that one go?
That frustration came on the heels of a very different kind of loss Friday in Washington, where the Hornets managed only 79 points, shot 29.7% and never found a rhythm. Saturday looked nothing like that. Charlotte shot 50%, put up 37 in the first quarter and got a strong night from Grayson Allen, who kept knocking down shots and gave the Hornets a real lift.
Allen was the biggest surprise of the night. He finished with 27 points on 9-of-12 shooting and buried seven of his 10 threes.
Brandon Miller also looked far more like himself after a rough Friday, turning in 24 points, five rebounds and five assists. He still took 20 shots, but five of his 12 three-pointers went down, and the performance felt much closer to the version of Miller Charlotte has seen most of the season.
Moussa Diabate added another steady outing, making all five of his shots on the way to 10 points and eight rebounds. With Allen providing so much off the bench, Charlotte finished with 48 bench points.
And yet none of that was enough.
Tyrese Maxey was a problem all night, scoring 38 points for Philadelphia, and the Hornets’ late-game execution fell apart after Allen’s seventh three made it 101-94. Charlotte then went six possessions without a point, turned it over twice and watched the lead disappear before it could recover.
That’s what made this loss feel different. There was plenty to like about the way Charlotte played for most of the night, which only sharpened the disappointment when it unraveled in the final minutes.
Seven games into the season, the Hornets are still hard to pin down. They’ve already had a 79-point dud and a 50% shooting night.
Miller has looked like one of the best players on the floor in one game and struggled badly in another. They’ve played four clutch games and split them.
So maybe this is just what Charlotte is for now.
At 3-4, the record isn’t a disaster. There’s enough here to avoid sounding alarmed.
But Saturday still feels like the one that got away. The Hornets looked like they should be 4-3.
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Hornets Face A Bigger Problem Than Another Close Loss
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Moussa Diabat pointed to execution as the problem, and the timing makes the concern even sharper with Charlotte still waiting on injured contributors Coby White, Kon Knueppel and Grant Williams to come back. Those absences matter, and the hope inside the locker room is that the roster will look more complete soon, but the Hornets also know the current stretch is exposing how much sharper they need to be before that help arrives. [Read more 🡒]