Takeaways from the Charlotte Hornets' Decisive Win Over the Indiana Pacers

Before tonight's game Rick Carlisle, head coach of the Indiana Pacers, had this to say about the Charlotte Hornets: "We know that every time we play them, we're playing one of the highest-level teams in the East."

Carlisle is a sure-fire Hall of Famer with multiple championship rings in his locker -- those words should not fall on deaf ears.

When the game tipped off, Charlotte proved Carlisle correct. The Hornets ran amok in the first quarter, buildling an insurmountable lead that weathered a handful of Pacers runs throughout the contest.

Below is a series of thoughts, highlights, stats, and takeaways bundled in a neat package called the four-point play.

One Highlight of the Night

A role reversal.

brandon lobs it from the backcourt to bridges 🤯@MilesBridges x @brandmillerr | 🎥 @FDSN_Hornets pic.twitter.com/da9ySpiPHO
— Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) April 3, 2026

Brandon Miller is known for his ability to throw down alley oop dunks on passes feathered to the rim by LaMelo Ball. On this occassion, Miller was the passer, and he lofted a perfectly weighted pass to Miles Bridges from the other side of the midcourt stripe.

All of those hours at the LaMelo Ball School of Alley Oop Passing have off.

Two Game-Defining Statistics

Rebound diferential +3
Turnover differential -2

On the rare occasion that Charlotte doesn't dominate the rebounding battle, they are forced to find another way to win the possession game.

It seems to me like they do a nice job of limiting their turnovers in games where they're short on options in the front court. This is at least the third time that the Hornets won the turnover battle (which they normally lose) when they lost or narrowly won the rebounding battle (which they normally win decisively).

This team continues to prove that they can win in multiple ways which will be key come playoff time.

Three Players of the Game

Sion James

The Hornets' other rookie from Duke just played the best game of his rookie season.

James was red hot from deep, knocking down his first three attempts and finishing the first half with four makes on six long-range attempts. Charlotte found a ton of success in slipping screeners into the short roll area, and James racked up a handful of assists in actions that got him the ball around the free throw line.

The short-roll area is still a spot where the Hornets are finding success. They're working the 4-on-3 situations well.

Here, Sion James finds Green for the corner three-pointer. https://t.co/yZyl8UNz4F pic.twitter.com/YuF3vJ2THg
— Richie (@richierandall) April 4, 2026

The best part his game tonight is that everything James gives the Hornets on offense is just gravy. He's a defensive stalwart for Charlotte, and on a night where they only had two big men available due to injuries and G-League assignments, James was effectively their backup power forward who guarded Pascal Siakam and Jay Huff with vigor.

Brandon Miller

Miller had it going from all three levels on offense tonight.

He diced up Indiana as a driver, varying his pickups and finishes to keep the Pacers' big men off-guard when getting downhill.

Really liked this low pickup by Brandon Miller in the first quarter. I feel like we don’t see this from him much on drives. pic.twitter.com/gV6Z0gEBO8
— Matt Alquiza (@malquiza8) April 4, 2026

He was a maestro in the midrange, knocking down 10-15-foot jumpers with relative ease.

And he was lights out from downtown, doing exaclty what he's done as a shooter all season.

Sprinkle in some slick playmaking and a handful of rebounds (an area in which I feel like I've seen Miller excel recently), and you get the type of complete two-way performance that Miller prides himself on.

LaMelo Ball

Early in the third quarter, LaMelo rose up and attempted to throw down a hammer dunk on the head of Jay Huff.

The play ended up being an offensive basket interference because Ball grabbed the rim with his off hand, but the fact that Ball even had the gumption to attempt a dunk in that moment spoke volumes to me.

It's early April and Ball's legs are fresh enough to not only just play in meaningful basketball games, but also impact winning at the highest levels on both ends of the floor. Full credit goes to Ball for how he has taken complete control of his off-court routines in order to be available this late into the season.

Four Takeaways from the Win

1. Salute to Pascal Siakam

In a world where NBA superstars across the league miss games on a nightly basis, Pascal Siakam deserves some love.

The Pacers have nothing to play for and frankly would be better off tanking the rest of the season to maximize their odds at landing one of AJ Dybansta, Darryn Peterson, or Cam Boozer with a top-three pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.

Siakam will have none of that.

He's played 62 games in a lost season for the Pacers, and he was as good as ever against the Hornets tonight. His combination of grace, strength, and length is fascinating. I look forward to watching the fully healthy Pacers again next season.

2. Missing Moussa

Xavier Tillman is a valuable presence in the Hornets' locker room, but he cannot be relied on to play meaningful minutes right now. Charlotte really missed Moussa Diabate's two-way impact in tonight's win.

Thankfully, Diabate's ankle ailment seems to be minor, and Charlotte expects him back in the lineup on Sunday.

3. Block Party

Tonight was Ryan Kalkbrenner's 16th game of the season with at least three blocks, good for the eighth most in the NBA. An absolute gem of a second-round pick.

4. Job's Not Finished

The Hornets did what they had to do in order to maintain their grasp on the eighth seed in the East. Now, the difficult work comes, with games against Minnesota, Boston, Detroit, and New York on deck to close the season.

What is a realistic expectation for Charlotte's record in those games? 2-2 feels about right to me. Time will tell if that will be enough for them to stay out of the dreaded 9-10 bracket that would force them to win two Play-In games to advance to the playoffs.

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