Takeaways from the Charlotte Hornets' victory over Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs

The weather outside is frightful, but the Charlotte Hornets are so delightful.

In front of a national audience on Amazon Prime Video, the Hornets squared up with Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs, and landed just enough punches to knock out the number two seed in the Western Conference.

The 111-106 win, Charlotte's sixth (!) straight, capped off a month of January in which the Hornets established themselves as a player in the NBA's playoff picture.

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 Afternoon

Brandon Miller's four-point play

Charlotte blew the game open with a Brandon Miller blitzkrieg late in the second quarter, and this long-range bomb over Wemby was the highlight of his run.

Play of the half right here.

LaMelo blows by Wembanyama, collapses the defense, kick, swing, and Miller hits the three over Wemby +1.

Look at Charles Lee’s reaction on the bench. First on the floor to pick up Miller after the foul. pic.twitter.com/kA7s9ee0wE
— Matt Alquiza (@malquiza8) January 31, 2026

The crowd rose as LaMelo Ball squared up Wemby at the top of the key, and Charlotte's effervescent point guard blew by the future Defensive Player of the Year. With two feet in the paint and the Spurs defense rotating in a panic, Ball kicked the ball out to Josh Green in the corner, who swung it to Miller, who nailed the jumper over a scrambling Wemby.

Turning Down a Good Shot for a Great Shot: The 2026 Charlotte Hornets Story.

2 Game-Defining Stats

Victor Wembanyama's -14
Moussa Diabate's +19

Many Charlotteans braved the snow and traveled to the Spectrum Center to watch Victor Wembanyama's annual pilgrimage to the Queen City. It turned out that another French big man would steal the show.

Moussa Diabaté was unbelievable in the Hornets' win.

Let the record show that, to this point, Moussa has firmly out-played Wemby in this game pic.twitter.com/jDB3FuI0ev
— Nekias (Nuh-KY-us) Duncan (@NekiasNBA) January 31, 2026

He finished the game with a 12 point, 10 rebound double-double while also chipping in six assists, and two blocks. Diabaté stuffed the stat sheet, played staunch one-on-one defense against one of the league's premier talents, and continued his ascension from 'cool story' to 'legitimately plus starter in the NBA.'

3 Players of the Game

Brandon Miller: 26 points, eight rebounds, two assists, two steals
Collin Sexton: 21 points, three assists, one steal
Moussa Diabate: 12 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, two blocks

Miller flipped the game on its head in the second quarter.

The Hornets were really struggling with the Spurs' deep stable of perimeter defenders in the first quarter and a half. Some contested shots from Miller, Sexton (more on him shortly), Kon Knueppel, and LaMelo Ball kept Charlotte in the game before Brandon's star turn allowed them to stretch their legs.

With Charlotte up 47-45, Miller went on a personal 12-0 run to give the Hornets a 14 point advantage. Cashing trio of three-pointers with three free throws to boot, the number two overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft gave his team the lead for good.

Brandon Miller’s heater started by picking on Wemby.

Get the switch, flow into Charlotte’s go-to guard-guard action, ghost the screen and force Wembanyama to cover ground because he has to repeat LaMelo’s driving ability. pic.twitter.com/aTRPtWqSSQ
— Matt Alquiza (@malquiza8) January 31, 2026

Collin Sexton set the table for Miller's barrage.

Charlotte had been scoreless for almost three minutes before Sexton did what he does best -- get to the line to steady some uneven tides. Those two free throws were a precursor for the rest of the second quarter as Sexton poured in ten massive points that kept Charlotte afloat.

The veteran spark plug finished the contest with 21 points on 7/8 shooting while knocking down timely shots to stymie San Antonio runs throughout the second half.

Four Takeaways from the Win

1. Charlotte's tournament resume

The NCAA Tournament is my favorite sporting event on the calendar.

If you look at Charlotte's resume like they are a bubble team trying to get into the tournament, they'd have as strong of a case as anybody.

The underlying metrics love the Hornets. According to NBA.com, the Hornets have the sixth ranked offense, the 19th ranked defense, and the league's 12th best net rating; better than fellow Play-In hopefuls like Chicago, Milwaukee, Atlanta, Miami, and Philadelphia.

Zoom in a bit closer to just the month of January, and the Hornets boast the league's best offense, the fifth best defense, and the number one net rating in the entire National Basketball Association.

With big-time wins over Oklahoma City, Denver, San Antonio, Toronto, and the Los Angeles Lakers, Charlotte meets the eye test and has the advanced metrics to back it up.

I said it after the win in Dallas -- the Play-In is now the floor for this group of Hornets.

2. Grant Williams proves his value

A singular defensive possession in the second quarter said everything you need to know about Grant Williams.

This was such a good defensive possession from the Hornets.

Listen to Grant Williams communicate the scram switch.

Moussa Diabate showing off the athleticism.

Everyone on a string to make it difficult for San Antonio pic.twitter.com/FLP2Miz1Wz
— Matt Alquiza (@malquiza8) January 31, 2026

The veteran forward expertly communicated a 'scram' switch, keeping the Hornets' defense matched-up with like-sized Spurs, and his teammates paid off the heady play. Grant Williams is integral to this team's success both on and off the floor, and this quick moment does a great job of encapsulating why that is the case.

3. Brandon Miller's All-Star case

Somebody who gets named an Eastern Conference All-Star will inevitably drop out due to injury. It happens every year.

Brandon Miller should be considered as his replacement.

His averages of 20.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 3.4 assists don't exactly scream 'All Star,' but his impact on the Hornets' scorching hot January can't be overstated. Miller has been the type of two-way wing NBA general managers dream about for a month-long stretch, and somebody on this Charlotte squad needs to get recognized at All Star Weekend. Why not Miller?

4. Trade deadline intrigue

Charlotte has one more game to play before Thursday's trade deadline buzzer sounds.

The Hornets have a couple of moveable pieces: Collin Sexton, Tre Mann, Josh Green, Pat Connaughton, and even Miles Bridges; and it wouldn't be shocking to see them offload one, or mutiple, of them for future assets.

Is that the path they should take? That's up for debate. Jeff Peterson has proven willing to make deals during busy transaction windows, and the only thing that would shock me is Peterson completely sitting out the deadline.