Brandon Miller scored 25, Vasilije Micic recorded a double double, but they couldn’t help the Charlotte Hornets overcome a third quarter in which they were outscored by 22 points.

The Summary

The Hornets took an early lead with four points from Tidjane Salaün, but the Hornets rookie only got to play two minutes before he twisted an ankle stepping on Josh Hart’s foot. He stayed on the floor to shoot free throws after twisting the ankle and did his best to stay out of the locker room, but he was eventually convinced to head back and was ruled out for the game. On the floor, the Hornets went toe to toe with one of the East’s better teams. Brandon Miller built off his strong finish to Tuesday with a movement three and an and-1 in which he put OG Anunoby in a blender. And he did this:

BRANDONNNNNNNNN@brandmillerr | @drpepper | 📹 @FDSN_Hornets pic.twitter.com/0iCHsAs7G9

— Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) December 6, 2024

It was all part of a 16 point opening frame for the second year pro. The Knicks whittled the Hornets once double digit lead down to two points by quarter’s end thanks to a late quarter surge.

DaQuan Jeffries got his first minutes in a Hornets uniform and hit an off the dribble three within two minutes of taking the floor. The rest of the second quarter didn’t have quite the notable fireworks of the first, but it was another high scoring quarter. Vasa Micic and Josh Hart played the roles of unlikely heroes for their respective teams. The Knicks got the better of the Hornets and led by three at the half.

Both teams struggled to put the ball in the hole in the first couple of minutes of the third quarter. Those struggles only lasted a couple of minutes for the Knicks. They lasted the whole quarter for the Hornets. The Knicks got the free throw line and found a rhythm that turned into scorching hot shooting from three. The crowd got amped up by the hot shooting, and the Knicks definitely fed off that. They outscored the Hornets by 22 points in the quarter and led by 25 going into the fourth despite Brandon Miller splashing a wild fadeaway three from about 30 feet away.

The Hornets couldn’t light a shooting fire that would have been needed to make a comeback. The Knicks did leave the door open for a while with some sloppy play and Karl-Anthony Towns doing some weird overly flashy bucket hunting. Seth Curry sprinkled in a trio of 3-pointers over the course of the quarter and ended up with 15 of the 23 points the Hornets scored in the fourth.

The Good

Brandon Miller had another strong game to build off his explosive second half on Tuesday. He was decisive with the ball and was confident in his ability to create space with his ball handling. The high usage without LaMelo Ball hasn’t always led to the best efficiency, but it seems to be building his confidence and has helped him add to his game.

Vasilije Micic played some very good point guard. He frequently got into the paint and sprayed the ball to shooters and dunkers. He finished with a 14 point, 12 assist double double.

It was all effectively in garbage time, but it was fun to watch a Curry light it up in a Hornets uniform.

The Hornets only had 10 turnovers. That’s pretty good.

The Bad

Jalen Brunson is in that category of players that I don’t much enjoy watching play. He’s big on the theatrics trying to draw fouls, and he foul baits from contact that he initiates. You could see Hornets players getting frustrated with a lot of the whistles getting blown in his favor.

While I’m complaining about the Knicks–it’s wild that Tom Thibodeau played Mikal Bridges 47 minutes in a December game against the Hornets in which the Knicks won by 24. Thibs gonna Thibs. He’ll do everything in his power to make sure Bridges doesn’t keep his ironman streak for too long.

As fun as Moussa Diabate has been, we got to see how his limitations can hurt the Hornets offense. The Hornets scored 62 points and had a very free flowing offense in the first half. Diabate took over the backup center minutes, and the Hornets were outscored by 14 points in his seven third quarter minutes. There just isn’t as much space to operate with Moussa’s limitations as a passer and finisher when he’s not catching the ball at the rim.

Tijane Salaün’s ankle injury will probably keep him out a bit, which is unfortunate given his recent uptick in play. Hopefully those young joints bounce back quickly.

What’s Next

The Hornets play a back to back over the weekend before getting a nice stretch of days off. That starts with a visit from the league leading Cleveland Cavaliers.