Hornets fight back from 22 down to beat Pelicans 102-95 for 7th straight victory
Hornets fight back from 22 down to beat Pelicans 102-95 for 7th straight victory
Yeah, I mean, we have 4 layups, we missed them. You know. 4 layups at the rim, you know. Either you miss them or you make them, you know, and Um, so I think we had good looks there, at least in the 3rd quarter. They picked up their aggression, you know, they got to the free throw line *** little bit more. They dictated play *** little bit more there, but in general, you got to score more than 31 points in ***, in *** half to get *** win. So I like where our defense is at though. I think the defense has given us *** shot. We said that’s where we’re going to hang our hat the rest of the year, and now we got to find some more offense. Just what did you think another really good performance coming? I mean, OKC was the same thing coming off another one. Where, where do you think that you guys have taken the, the biggest jump defensive? I think physicality overall, just our, our aggression there in the half court. Nothing is easy, you know, as before. Um, the layups, the dunks, obviously the board could have been better tonight, uh, in general, but I think the effort there defensively, uh, is there, the effort, the physicality, uh, now we got to finish it with the board, but, um, good effort again. Can I ask about rebounding next. So, uh, what do you think was the difference there? Not *** typical night -25, especially, uh, kind of, kind of on both ends, maybe zone *** little bit on one end. Yeah, the zone, and they’re small and offensive. Yeah, I mean, we’re switching *** lot, you know, and I think we’re keeping them to, to one shot in general, but, um, when Diabate gets in there and, you know, we’re *** little bit smaller, you know, on the board at times, but I thought we were disruptive defensively upfront. We’re switching *** lot of their stuff, taking them out of their patterns, but then you got to finish it with the board and obviously, we didn’t get that done at the level we needed to.
Hornets fight back from 22 down to beat Pelicans 102-95 for 7th straight victory
Hornets fight back from 22 down to beat Pelicans 102-95 for 7th straight victory
Updated: 8:03 PM CST Feb 2, 2026
LaMelo Ball overcame an early head-to-head collision with coach Charles Lee to score 24 points, and the surging Charlotte Hornets fought back from a 22-point deficit to beat the New Orleans Pelicans 102-95 on Monday for their seventh straight win.Kon Knueppel added 17 points, hitting four 3s, and Brandon Miller and Grant Williams each scored 16 as Charlotte pulled within a half-game of the Atlanta Hawks for the 10th spot in the Eastern Conference.The Hornets overcame 17 turnovers while matching their longest winning streak since March 2016.Trey Murphy III scored 27 points to lead the Pelicans, who have lost six of their last nine. Zion Williamson finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds, while Derik Queen had 16 points.Ball left the game briefly in the first quarter with an eye laceration after banging heads with Lee as Ball was trying to save an errant pass from going out of bounds.He returned a few minutes later and scored 18 points on three 3s in the first half, but the Hornets still found themselves trailing 64-49 at the break after shooting 7 of 30 from beyond 3-point range and committing 10 turnovers.Charlotte stormed back to take the lead in the fourth quarter on a blow-by drive and two-handed dunk by Ball.The Hornets later pushed the lead to nine when Miller, the Eastern Conference Player of the Week, picked Herbert Jones’ pocket at midcourt and raced in for a soaring one-handed dunk.Up nextPelicans: Visit Milwaukee on Wednesday night.Hornets: Visit Houston on Thursday night.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. —
LaMelo Ball overcame an early head-to-head collision with coach Charles Lee to score 24 points, and the surging Charlotte Hornets fought back from a 22-point deficit to beat the New Orleans Pelicans 102-95 on Monday for their seventh straight win.
Kon Knueppel added 17 points, hitting four 3s, and Brandon Miller and Grant Williams each scored 16 as Charlotte pulled within a half-game of the Atlanta Hawks for the 10th spot in the Eastern Conference.
The Hornets overcame 17 turnovers while matching their longest winning streak since March 2016.
Trey Murphy III scored 27 points to lead the Pelicans, who have lost six of their last nine. Zion Williamson finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds, while Derik Queen had 16 points.
Ball left the game briefly in the first quarter with an eye laceration after banging heads with Lee as Ball was trying to save an errant pass from going out of bounds.
He returned a few minutes later and scored 18 points on three 3s in the first half, but the Hornets still found themselves trailing 64-49 at the break after shooting 7 of 30 from beyond 3-point range and committing 10 turnovers.
Charlotte stormed back to take the lead in the fourth quarter on a blow-by drive and two-handed dunk by Ball.
The Hornets later pushed the lead to nine when Miller, the Eastern Conference Player of the Week, picked Herbert Jones’ pocket at midcourt and raced in for a soaring one-handed dunk.
Up next
Pelicans: Visit Milwaukee on Wednesday night.
Hornets: Visit Houston on Thursday night.