Brandon Miller scored a team high 18 points, but the Charlotte Hornets struggled offensively as they were blown out by the New York Knicks, 115-91.

Summary

The Knicks started the game hot and hit six 3-pointers in the first few minutes of the game. The Hornets, meanwhile, did not. Nine minutes into the game, the visitors already found themselves in a 29-13 hole. They did manage to outscore the Knicks for the final three minutes of the quarter though, doing so by a score of 3-0.

The Hornets started the second quarter a little better and managed to trim the deficit to seven at one point, but the Knicks were able to cobble together enough of a run to keep their lead intact. It was an ugly game throughout this whole time. The Knicks play an aesthetically unpleasing style, and they compounded that with a lot of airballs and bricks when they missed. The Hornets were just all around bad. They got a jolt of energy from Brandon Miller, who hit back-to-back threes to pull the Hornets within nine. Since the Hornets can’t have nice things, he proceeded to twist his ankle the next time down the floor and had to leave the game.

Miller tried to gut it out and even scored the first bucket of the second half, but he was visibly uncomfortable the whole time he was on the floor. Still, the Hornets started the half on an 11-3 run to pull within one, but back to back turnovers ended their run. The teams traded a few baskets, then the Knicks went on a big run late to stretch their lead back to 14 by the end of the third.

The Knicks got a second 3-pointer to drop via multiple bounces on the rim from the left corner early in the fourth as the Knicks ran away from the Hornets in the game’s final frame. The Hornets got some good stuff in garbage time at least. Nick Smith Jr hit a pair of 3-pointers and James Bouknight hit a three the first time he touched the ball.

The Good

Brandon Miller looked like the most confident Hornet on the floor for stretches of this game. He struggled inside the arc, but he hit 4-of-6 threes and chipped in a couple of nice assists. He led the Hornets with 18 points.

Nick Smith Jr hit a pair of 3-pointers in garbage time and scored eight total points. He’s trying to claw his way into the rotation.

The Bad

All of the non-rookies. Gordon Hayward was the biggest sore spot with four points on 2-of-7 shooting in 28 minutes. He’s now scored in single digits in five of the last seven games.

The Hornets turned the ball over 17 times and looked very uncomfortable running their offense. They had one of their more efficient shooting games from behind the arc, but they still struggled to break 90 points for the game. The Knicks have a good defense, but it looks like offense is going to be real hard to come by while LaMelo Ball is out.

What’s Next

The Hornets will hang out in New York for a couple of days before taking on the Nets on Thursday.