Takeaways from the Charlotte Hornets disappointing loss to red-hot Harden, Kawhi, and the Clippers

When these Charlotte Hornets learn to win close games against veteran laden squads, watch out.

After dismantling the Utah Jazz on Sunday, the Hornets traveled west to the City of Stars for a matchup with Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, and the Los Angeles Clippers. Charlotte battled for 48 minutes, leading with just under seven to go in the contest, before Los Angeles flexed their muscle and pulled away in the final stanza.

Below are a series of thoughts, stats, and highlights from the game bundled into a neat package I like to call the four-point play.

1 Highlight of the Game

LaMelo Ball's swooping reverse layup

LaMelo's third quarter outburst was the equivalent of an espresso shot for bleary-eyed Hornets fans that watched the game on the East Coast. He was brilliant in the period, putting Charlotte's stagnant offense on his back on his way to 12 points, four assists, and a number of highlight-worthy plays.

Chief among them all was this absurd inside-hand reverse layup among the trees that he somehow gathers without even touching the ball with his left hand.

LaMelo Ball’s third quarter takeover to match Kawhi and Harden was brilliant.

Punctuated it with this absurd inside hand reverse layup. pic.twitter.com/h7XbijIgTw
— Matt Alquiza (@malquiza8) January 13, 2026

2 Game-Defining Stats

Hornets shoot 10-33 from three
Charlotte's 10.8% turnover rate

Heading into the game against the Clippers, the Hornets were on an all-time shooting bender. Since LaMelo Ball returned from an ankle injury on December 18th, Charlotte led the league in both three-point shooting frequency and accuracy. The Hornets had been shooting the cover off the ball, firing away at a clip that had to come back down to earth at some point.

Since LaMelo Ball returned to the lineup on 12/18, the Charlotte Hornets have become the league’s premier three-point shooting team.

First in frequency of three-point attempts (44.3%)

First in three-point shooting accuracy (41.8%)
— Matt Alquiza (@malquiza8) January 12, 2026

Against the Clippers, their shooting did just that.

The Hornets attempted a three on 34.7% of their offensive possessions, their lowest single-game percentage of the season. As the volume got deflated, so did the overall number of makes, forcing Charlotte to find offense elsewhere.

They mitigated their struggles by shooting 75% (21/28) at the rim, and also by taking care of the ball.

Anybody who has watched the Hornets this season has been aware of their ghastly struggles with turnovers. However, against the Clippers, they only turned it over on 10.8% of their possessions, allowing them to overcome their ineptitude from deep over the course of the game.

3 Players of the Game

LaMelo Ball - 25 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists
Moussa Diabate - 13 points, 15 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 blocks, 1 steal
Tre Mann - 9 points, 1 rebounds, 1 assist

Ball's third quarter brilliance kept the Hornets in the contest.

He was sublime as a playmaker, finding Kon Knueppel and Miles Bridges on highlight dishes early in the period, before taking over as a scorer late. Ball played almost the entire third quarter, giving the Hornets a punchers chance going into the fourth with his high-level play.

While LaMelo had his moment as the leading man in the third quarter, Diabate deserves recognition for 35 minutes of 'Best Supporting Actor' floor time.

Diabate's two-way impact was immense in this game. His blocked shots were emphatic, but his overall possession-to-possession impact on the Hornets' defense was sterling. Moussa's versatility as a defender has been a skeleton key to making Charlotte unpredictable (in a positive way) on that end of the floor.

On offense, Diabate made a number of impressive reads as a passer, continuing to indicate his growth as an overall offensive player. Additionally, Moussa left Ivica Zubac's head spinning with a pair of euro steps in the lane. He has developed into quite the player.

Lastly, kudos to Tre Mann.

Forced into action due to Collin Sexton's hamstring injury, Mann played well in his 13 minutes. He played his role in Charles lee's offense to perfecting, making, correct decisions to dribble, pass, or shoot with minimal lag time.

Four takeaways from the loss

1. Miles Bridges does the little things

It has been encouraging to see Miles Bridges assimilate to a supporting role now that Charlotte's roster is relatively healthy. In the past, Bridges has struggled to scale down from the high-usage, creation-heavy role he was pigeon-holed into due to the absences of LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller, but he has done so nicely in recent games.

Miles Bridges has been playing pretty good basketball recently, answering some of the questions I had about his ability to scale down into a smaller role in a healthy Hornets starting five.

Little plays like this need to stack up for him. pic.twitter.com/St3LXx7Waa
— Matt Alquiza (@malquiza8) January 13, 2026

His season-long usage percentage is at 23.3%, in the 74th percentile for wings, but it has fallen to 20.1% in the month-long stretch following LaMelo's return to the lineup in December. He's doing small, but important, things in his new role: playing solid one-on-one defense, rebounding the ball, making the extra pass, that lead to winning; and the Hornets are better off because of it.

2. Grant Williams looks healthy

The veteran forward played 13 minutes in his second game back, and he looked to be in great shape. His communication on defense was welcomed, as was his impact as a screener when the Hornets had the ball.

Another Hornets bucket created by a Grant Williams off-ball screen pic.twitter.com/EoAo7mobqO
— Matt Alquiza (@malquiza8) January 13, 2026

If Charlotte stands pat at the trade deadline and continues to bring Grant off the bench, I am predicting that he will have a top three on/off net rating differential by the end of the season.

3. An aggressive Brandon Miller is a good Brandon Miller

Miller struggled to get off the mark in this one, but he had a pair of buckets in the third quarter that showed him at his best.

When he is aggressive and attempting to punish help defenders by playing through contact, Miller is a much better finisher. Too often Miller fades away from contact or plays off a pivot foot instead of exploding through the chest of opposing big men or taking shots moving downhill.

He did the latter twice to start the scoring in the second half.

Love seeing Miller play through contact around the rim. I feel like he settles for floaters or gets to his pivot foot to fade away too often. pic.twitter.com/ZV25YrkBHX
— Matt Alquiza (@malquiza8) January 13, 2026

4. Charlotte's 'gotta have it' set continues to get results

A few weeks ago, I detailed how the Hornets utilize 'Angle Pop Gut Zoom,' and they continue to go to it in big moments.

Down two with 7:17 to go, Charles Lee called for this play, and it led to an open three for Tre Mann in the corner that he buried.

A few possessions later, with the Clippers lead up to eight after a pair of James Harden threes, Lee went back to the well and a slick pass by Kon Knueppel led to a pair of Diabate free throws.

Fourth quarter, Hornets need a bucket, and Charles Lee dials up his go-to set. pic.twitter.com/hGjrAWOEz1
— Matt Alquiza (@malquiza8) January 13, 2026

If it ain't broke don't fix it.