Kon Knueppel snapped out of his shooting slump to break Kemba Walker’s franchise record for threes in a season while the Charlotte Hornets took down the Phoenix Suns, 127-107.

The Summary

The Suns started hot, but so did the Hornets. The game turned into a little bit of a one on one between Brandon Miller and Devin Booker for a few possessions, with both taking turns scoring on the other. That included one play where Booker thought there should have been a foul, so he quite literally walked away from Miller to talk to the official during live play. Miller knocked down the three. The Suns sustained their hot shooting a little longer and even banked in a pair of threes. They were able to lead by as many as 10 and kept it near that mark into the second quarter. The Hornets walked them back with a run in the middle part of the second quarter that was spurred in part by Ryan Kalkbrenner rising up to block a Jalen Green dunk attempt, which led to a Coby White three. A few minutes later, LaMelo Ball hit a couple of tough floaters in traffic to put the Hornets ahead, and they wouldn’t look back from there. They closed the half on a 9-0 run and led by six going into intermission.

Every starter scored in the first couple of minutes of the second half to extend the run the Hornets closed the first half with. LaMelo made a bunch of plays on both sides of the ball in response to the Suns cutting into the Hornets’ lead, and he and Miles Bridges restored the lead back to double figures. A tough running and-1 by Coby White and then a three by Kon Knueppel put the Hornets up 17 late in the third. The three tied Knueppel with Kemba Walker for the franchise record for threes in a season. The Hornets carried a 15 point lead and all the momentum into the fourth quarter.

The teams went back and forth for a few minutes to start the fourth, which was more than okay with the Hornets. Grant Williams found Knueppel in the corner for the rookie’s fourth three of the game, which broke the franchise record for threes in a season. LaMelo found Bridges for yet another alley oop behind the defense, then the latter drilled a corner three to put the Hornets up 21 and effectively ice the game with under five minutes to play. The teams left their main rotation minutes for a couple more minutes, but they eventually emptied the benches to play out the final couple minutes.

The Good

We’ll start with the rookie. It’s been a foregone conclusion for a while, so there wasn’t a ton of pomp and circumstance around it, but he broke Kemba’s record for 3-pointers made in a season for the Hornets. It also looks like he’s going to end up leading the NBA in 3-pointers made this season since Luka Doncic left last night’s game with a hamstring strain. We’ve watched him for a season, so we’ve gotten used to it, but it’s good to remember how unprecedented a rookie season he’s had. No rookie has ever led the league in 3-pointers made, and it’s exceedingly rare for rookies to break any sort of positive record. He’s a hooper and is going to be an elite cornerstone for this team for a long, long time.

Miles Bridges is hitting his stride at the perfect time. He had a few highlight dunks but still kind of quietly led the Hornets with 25 points. He hit four threes, and that’s the first time he’s hit more than one in a game in over two weeks. He did more mismatch hunting, and between that and the lob threat he provided behind the Suns aggressive defense, there was little the Suns could do to stop him.

Coby White is unguardable, especially coming off the bench against broken lineups. He scored 19 points in 20 minutes and got whatever he wanted while he was on the floor. He’s averaging 32 points per 36 minutes over the last 10 games. That’s elite production and makes it so there’s no letup when the Hornets go to their bench.

Brandon Miller and LaMelo Ball took a back seat, but both made an impact on the game with their efficiency and floor games. LaMelo finished with a double double and helped the Hornets pull away in the third quarter with a bunch of assists and some good defensive plays. Miller’s 17 points mostly came in a couple of waves that helped the Hornets go on runs.

The Bad

I can’t really think of anything. Every Hornet that played had a positive plus-minus and there wasn’t any phase of the game where the Hornets struggled as a team. It was a good clean win.

What’s Next

The Hornets have clinched a non-losing season for only the second time in the last 10 years. They hang on to the 8 seed and create a full game of space between them and the Heat, who have the tiebreaker over the Hornets should the two finish with the same record.

They’ll play their last “B League” opponent of the year when they host the visiting Pacers tonight. They need to ge a win before a brutal final four games of the regular season.