Hornets Aim to Keep Historic Run Rolling as Pelicans Visit Charlotte for Early Tip

The Charlotte Hornets will try to keep the best stretch of basketball the franchise has seen in nearly a decade alive on Monday, hosting the New Orleans Pelicans in an unusual 3 p.m. ET tip at Spectrum Center. Severe weather in the region has again prompted an afternoon start.

But Hornets fans don't mind. After Saturday's gritty 111-106 win over San Antonio, Charlotte enters the matchup riding a six-game winning streak, the longest active streak in the NBA and the Hornets' longest since 2016. That victory not only capped a dominant January in Buzz City, but also nudged the Hornets up from 12th to 11th in the East — firmly into the play-in conversation.

The surge no longer feels fluky. The Hornets' starting five has been one of the most effective units in basketball over the past month, blending pace, spacing, and defensive connectivity in a way that just wasn't there earlier this season. LaMelo Ball is healthy and orchestrating, Brandon Miller is playing the best basketball of his young career, and Moussa Diabaté is handily anchoring the middle.

What the Hornets Can Expect From New Orleans

Now comes a New Orleans team still searching for consistency. The Pelicans arrive in Charlotte at 13-38 after a 124-114 loss to Philadelphia on Saturday, a game in which Saddiq Bey poured in 34 points but New Orleans couldn't fully erase a rough second quarter.

For Charlotte, this is the kind of game that tests whether the growth is real. The Hornets are favored, at home, and confident. They're facing a team on a road trip that has struggled to close games. Those are exactly the nights where young teams can either stumble, or take another step forward.

Key Matchup

Charlotte's ball movement vs. New Orleans' perimeter defense

The Hornets' offense has thrived by turning good shots into great ones, with quick decisions and relentless drive-and-kick action. If Ball and Miller are able to collapse the Pelicans' defense early, Charlotte should generate the kind of clean perimeter looks that have fueled this run.

With one more game remaining before the trade deadline, the Hornets continue to balance the present with the future. But make no mistake, Monday afternoon is all about the now. A seventh straight win would push Charlotte even closer to the Eastern Conference's play-in line and further cement January as the month that everything changed for Charlotte Hornets basketball.

Injury Report

Hornets: OUT: Mason Plumlee (groin) PROBABLE: Josh Green (thumb)

Pelicans: OUT: Dejounte Murray (Achilles)

Projected Starting Lineups

	Hornets	Pelicans
G	LaMelo Ball	Herb Jones
G	Brandon Miller	Trey Murphy III
F	Kon Knueppel	Saddiq Bey
F	Miles Bridges	Zion Williamson
C	Moussa Diabaté	Derik Queen

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