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Takeaways From the Charlotte Hornets' Comeback Win Over the New Orleans Pelicans

Breaking down the Hornets' seventh-straight win from all angles.
Matt Alquiza|
Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

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Charlotte Hornets

Lucky number seven.

With a 102-95 win over the New Orleans Pelicans, the Charlotte Hornets ran their win streak to seven games, the longest current streak in the NBA and the franchise's longest since 2016.

It was ugly at times, but a win is a win, right? Charlotte dug deep and climbed out of a 22-point first half hole in a game that looked destined for a loss due to an uncharacteristically poor start from the home team.

Nevertheless, the Hornets kept rolling, and now have two days off before they head west to take on the Houston Rockets who will present the toughest test in this run of good play for Charlotte.

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

1 Highlight of the Game

LaMelo Ball rises for a poster

Most of the time, LaMelo Ball is on the front end of a highlight dunk -- throwing the pass that releases a teammate into space before they sky for a poster slam. On this occasion, Ball was the one throwing down the dunk.

It's hard to believe that we're at this point.

Just a few months ago, any story that was written about LaMelo Ball revolved around trade rumors, the fractured relationship with his head coach, and the mutual benefits of a fresh start for the player and the team. When he injured his ankle for the umpteenth time in November, it was hard to imagine a path forward for the strained marriage between the Hornets and their franchise player.

Now, any thought of trading Ball is a distant memory. He has been the engine of the league's best offense in the new year, commandeering a red hot Hornets squad to seven straight wins. LaMelo Ball throwing down a dunk in the half court is now the singular defining moment of one of the most stunning in-season turnarounds these eyes have ever seen.

Although, he is still butting heads with his head coach despite the success.

2 Game-Defining Stats

New Orleans' 31 second half points
Charlotte's 107.4 offensive rating

The Hornets' offense was stuck in neutral for the majority of the first half.

After a quick 7-0 run to start the contest, Charlotte couldn't hit the broadside of a barn. The Hornets' offensive process was sound, but the shots just weren't falling -- it was the first time this season that Charles Lee's squad looked out of sorts due to an odd start time.

The tide turned when LaMelo Ball re-entered the game late in the second quarter. Ball sparked a 15-8 run to close the half that injected just enough belief into the Hornets to change their fortunes.

Charlotte's offense wasn't much better in the second half, but they did enough to grind out a win against a quality opponent. The Pelicans' record is one of the league's worst, but the fighting James Borregos have been playing competitive basketball of late. New Orleans has no incentive to tank, and Charlotte took every punch the Pelicans threw and proved they can win a defense-first slugfest while overcoming a major first half deficit.

It was an impressive win, all things considered, and one that was sparked by their defense

After a halftime talking to from Lee and his staff, the Hornets came out of the break with a renwed vigor and focus. They ratcheted up the intensity, stifling a red hot Derik Queen and company with some impressive individual defensive efforts. Each of Brandon Miller, Sion James, Josh Green, Grant Williams, Moussa Diabate, and Ryan Kalkbrenner had big-time moments in man-to-man defense that coalesced into the best half of team defense that Charlotte has played all season.

3 Players of the Game

LaMelo Ball - 24 points, eight rebounds, five assists, two steals, 8/20 shooting
Grant Williams - 16 points, nine rebounds, one assist, 5/7 shooting
Ryan Kalkbrenner - 10 points, seven rebounds, one assist, three blocks, 3/5 shooting

Any questions you may have had about LaMelo Ball's desire to win were answered this afternoon.

Ball returned to the game with a cut over his eye that looked like it came from a three-minute round in the Octagon. Instead of calling it a day, like many (myself included) would have, Ball returned to the floor and led the charge in one of the largest comebacks in franchise history.

Grant Williams looked like Grant Williams today.

He spoke after the win about how he's changed his pregame routine to warm up his jump shot in areas of the floor that he's going to shoot from during the game, and I would wager a guess that most of his practice shots came from the corner.

Four of his five makes were from the corners, and they were pivotal in Charlotte's ability to stay within touching distance in the first half.

I predicted a few weeks ago that Williams would wind up leading the Hornets in on/off net rating differential this season, and my prediction looks good thus far. Although Williams' 157 minutes are still a small sample size, his +18.0 net rating differential paints a clear picture of his value.

Kalkbrenner deserves a shout for how well he played in the second half.

After struggling for much of the first two quarters, so much so that Charles Lee played the 'break glass in case of emergency' lineup with Grant Williams at center, Kalkbrenner turned it on in when Charlotte made their comeback.

He was immense on both ends, styming Pelicans attempts at the rim and functioning as a key cog in Charlotte's offense as a screener, hand off hub, and play finisher in the half court.

Four Takeaways from the Win

1. Brandon Miller's heater

Miller only scored 16 points tonight, ending his 10-game streak of eclipsing 20 points, but he was still valuable in the victory. His ability to create looks late in the shot clock when Charlotte's dizzying array of offensive actions fail to create an advantage is a much-needed fail safe for the Hornets.

His recent exploits were rewarded with a much-deserved Eastern Conference Player of the Week award, the first one for a Hornets player in 2025-26.

2. Collin Sexton does it again

Not many people on this team have a sense of the moment like Collin Sexton.

It seems like every time Charlotte makes a run in a tight game, Sexton is at the heart of it. And if he's not a part of the initial surge, he's usually there to cool off an opposing team's heater with a timely bucket or some free throws.

Sexton capped a 7-0 Hornets run late in the third quarter to cut the Pelicans lead to one, adding another high-leverage shot to his growing portfolio of them in his first season in Charlotte.

3. Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers

How many times am I going to lament the Hornets' struggles with turnovers in these post game pieces?

Charlotte turns the ball over on 15.8% of their possessions, the third most in the league, and it is truly the biggest wart in the team's otherwise sterling analytical profile. For Charlotte to truly make noise in the Eastern Conference's playoff race, they need to hold on to the ball.

4. The best lineup in basketball

LaMelo Ball, Kon Knueppel, Brandon Miller, Miles Bridges, and Moussa Diabate remains the best five-man unit in the sport. What a sentence.

Their +33.8 net rating is fifteen points higher than the second-best unit in basketball among lineups that have played at least 350 possessions together.

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Matt Alquiza
MATT ALQUIZA

Email: Malquiza8(at)gmail.com Twitter: @Malquiza8 UNC Charlotte graduate and Charlotte native obsessed with all things from the Queen City. I have always been a sports fan and I am constantly trying to learn the game so I can share it with you. I survived 7-59. I survived lost the Anthony Davis lottery. I survived Super Bowl 50. And I believe that the best is yet to come in Charlotte sports, let's talk about it together! Enlish degree with a journalism minor from UNC Charlotte. Written for multiple publications covering the Bobcats/Hornets, Panthers, Fantasy Football

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