After falling to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday night, the Charlotte Hornets were back in action just a day later, taking on the 5-22 Washington Wizards on Tuesday night.
The Hornets would be without two of their big men in Ryan Kalkbrenner and Mason Plumlee, however would receive Collin Sexton back after the guard missed seven games with a quad injury.
Having played the night before gave the Hornets some troubles early, as the team shot 9/29 from the field, 3/14 from three, and 3/6 from the foul line in the first quarter. Moussa Diabate grabbed 8 rebounds, including 2 on the offensive glass, which helped keep the Hornets in the ballgame.
It was a high scoring affair in the second quarter, where the Hornets ended up recording 38 points. Brandon Miller recorded 7 points in the period, but it was an all around showing from the squad to help them trail by just three headed into the half.
While the Hornets shooting woes continued in the second, things started to pick up in the third quarter. LaMelo Ball recorded 7 points, and Kon Knueppel recorded 6, as the Hornets were able to secure another 30 point quarter.
The Hornets blew the roof off the Spectrum Center in the fourth quarter.
Late in the fourth, the Hornets put together a 16-4 run, with two threes each from Kon Knueppel and Brandon Miller, capped off by an alley-oop from LaMelo Ball to Miles Bridges.
While the Wizards pulled their starters and the Hornets took out some of their starters right after the run, Kon Knueppel capped off an electric fourth quarter, hitting his third three of the quarter to give the Hornets a 19 point lead. After a slow start from the rookie, Knueppel recorded 15 second half points, helping lead the Hornets to victory.
The Hornets took down the Wizards 126-109, advancing to 10-20 on the season.
The Hornets
There was no one performance that stood out tonight, instead, it was a collective effort from the entire team to secure their 10th win of the season.
It’s the first time since the 2021-22 season that the Buzz have won 10 games prior to Christmas, and it still remains to be seen how good the squad can be when fully healthy.
LaMelo Ball finished with 23 points and 9 assists. Brandon Miller finished with 20 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists. Moussa Diabate had 12 points and 18 rebounds. Miles Bridges had a rough shooting night, but had 9 rebounds and 9 assists. Sion James recorded 13 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists. Kon Knueppel had 19 points, including 15 in the second half. Tidjane Salün recorded 11 points and 6 rebounds. Collin Sexton recorded 12 points.
Eight players in double figures. 4 total turnovers. 35 assists on 42 made shots.
Hornets basketball.
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