Charlotte Hornets blowout Denver Nuggets, end West Coast road trip on a high note

A dominant victory to end the Charlotte Hornets' road trip is just what the doctor ordered.

The Hornets finished their annual West Coast swing with an impressive 3-2 record that was punctuated with tonight's 110-87 win against the Denver Nuggets. It's going to take a mighty tank job for Charlotte to be thinking about lottery balls come March and April.

The toothpaste is out of the tube -- this is a solid basketball team that can compete against any squad in the Association on any given night, and the win in Denver hammered that fact home.

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

One Highlight of the Night

Collin Sexton and Brandon Miller link up for an alley oop

The best play of Charlotte's rollicking first half.

The rare Collin Sexton -> Brandon Miller alley oop.

Once Sexton pulled out the same hand behind the back dribble I assumed something flashy was coming. pic.twitter.com/sdxo7FZPj3
— Matt Alquiza (@malquiza8) January 19, 2026

Created by some staunch defense, the standard for Charlotte in this game, Sexton heard the Sports Center Top Ten jingle ringing in his brain from the second he touched the ball. He pulled out a nifty behind-the-back same hand dribble before lofting a LaMelo Ball-esque lob pass that Miller gracefully slammed home.

Two Game-Defining Stats

6-1 with Ball/Miller/Knueppel/Bridges/Diabate as starters
Denver's 97.4 offensive rating

These two stats go hand-in-hand.

Charlotte's defense with these five in the starting lineup is stifling. Moussa Diabate's athleticism allows the Hornets' some schematic versatility on defense that Ryan Kalkbrenner just can't bring.

Which is fine! Kalkbrenner is already a borderline elite big man in drop coverage; a useful player type to have on your bench.

The Hornets can switch actions with Diabate at center, they can play drop coverage, or they can play zone (which they did in after timeout, set defense situations tonight). Diabate is far from a perfect modern big man, but he's graduated from a good story to being a straight up good basketball player.

He returned to the lineup tonight and the Hornets looked like the explosive, two-way machine that has ravaged their opponents in recent weeks.

Three Players of the Game

Brandon Miller - 24 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 8/15 shooting
Tidjane Salaun - 13 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 6/8 shooting
Kon Knueppel - 14 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 5/11 shooting

Miller's torrid run of play continued in the first half against Denver.

Since LaMelo Ball returned from an ankle bruise on December 18th, a line of demarcation for the Hornets' season, Miller is shooting 41% from downtown, good for the 73rd percentile of wings in the NBA. LaMelo is the skeleton key that unlocks everything the Hornets try to do on offense, and he has an truly indelible impact on Miller's offensive game.

With Grant Williams sidelined, Tidjane received minutes in Charles Lee's rotation for the second-straight night. He was superb.

The second-year forward continued to make progress on both ends of the floor, flashing the tantalizing potential that got him drafted with the sixth overall pick in 2024. A pair of drives underscore the leap he's made in year two.

The first, following a ghost screen in the first quarter, ends with Tidjane throwing a slick drop off pass to Ryan Kalkbrenner for an easy dunk.

The Good Stuff™️ from Tidjane here.

Frees himself with a ghost screen, Sexton’s pass gets him moving downhill, draw two and dump it to Kalkbrenner for the easy dunk.

Good minutes for Salaün in Q1. pic.twitter.com/dEGAfQF1gb
— Matt Alquiza (@malquiza8) January 19, 2026

The second, off a sick one-handed offensive rebound by Josh Green in the third quarter, sees Salaün knifing to the hoop with some fancy footwork and a decisive, committed finish.

Come for Josh Green’s one-handed rebound, stay for the drive by Tidjane Salaün.

Decisive and committed with some fancy foot work from the second-year forward pic.twitter.com/GUGI4zlXnz
— Matt Alquiza (@malquiza8) January 19, 2026

Knueppel was his normal, steady self in the win. Charlotte had six players finish in double figures, and the third star could have gone to a number of Hornets. Kon gets the nod for seven combined rebounds and assists.

Four Takeaways from the Win

1. A hot start

A dominant first quarter is exactly what Charlotte needed to steady themselves after the Warriors landed some haymakers on Saturday in the Bay. Playing on the second night of a back-to-back, Charlotte had every excuse in the book available to pin a slow start on.

Instead of succumbing to tired legs or allowing the frustration from Saturday night's loss linger, Charlotte had a fire in their belly from the opening tip and they cruised to a relatively easy victory on the back of some good work in the first stanza.

Head coach Charles Lee challenged the team after the Warriors game saying "I would love for us to be ready to go from the beginning of the game (in Denver). It took us too long to get into the speed of this game, the pace of the game, the physicality of the game..."

Challenge accepted and executed.

2. Kon Knueppel can't buy a break

Sunday night's win in Denver marked the third straight game that Kon got jobbed by the referees.

Late in the first half, Knueppel drove with his right hand and got accosted while finishing a tough chance at the cup. No foul was called, and Knueppel and his teammates trotted back down the court to play defense.

He even pulled out the obligatory 'HEY!' that all great foul drawers have in their bag.

The rookie needs a bit more seasoning before he gets a favorable whistle, I guess.

3. Diabate and Kalkbrenner have a night

The Nuggets were missing their top two centers (Nikola Jokic and Jonas Valančiūnas), and it was painstakingly obvious.

Denver struggled to make any meaningful impact in the painted area. They attempted 14% of their shots in the paint (a season low per Cleaning the Glass), and got outrebounded 52-29 by the Hornets. Diabate and Kalkbrenner were immense on the offensive glass, either pulling down rebounds themselves, boxing out to allow their crashing teammates to haul them in, or drawing loose ball fouls by Nuggets.

4. Big-game hunting

The Hornets continue to add impressive pelts to their trophy case.

A blowout win in Oklahoma City. A blowout win in Los Angeles against the Lakers. A blowout win in Denver. A blowout win in Utah.

If the NBA playoff participants were decided by a committee, the Hornets resume of big wins would keep them in the conversation.

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