Hornets win! Emphatic Brandon Miller dunk leads Charlotte past Indiana Pacers on the road
The Charlotte Hornets returned to the win column with a hard-fought victory on the road.
Brandon Miller, who led the way in the Hornets’ 113-109 win over the Indiana Pacers, split a pair of defenders who were double-teaming him by the top of the key and drove toward the basket. A step inside the elbow, Miller held the basketball high in his right hand — and took flight.
Miller’s vicious one-handed slam dunk gave Charlotte a six-point advantage late in its first victory since Nov. 21.
The 6-foot-7 lottery pick, in his sophomore NBA season, poured in 26 points to lead the Hornets, who were missing seven players because of injury Sunday evening at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Pacers kept up, but Charlotte was in control from start
The game was close throughout, but the Hornets (7-17) dealt the first punches.
Charlotte began the evening with a 9-0 scoring run and led for most of the early going, but that initial nine-point lead remained its largest.
Indiana guard T.J. McConnell, who finished with a career-high 30 points off the bench to lead all scorers, was among multiple Pacers who answered big Hornets shots over the final minutes. Charlotte was inbounding the ball hanging onto a four-point lead with roughly 26 seconds left — and Bennedict Mathurin picked off the pass, which allowed the Pacers to make it a two-point game late.
But Charlotte’s defense was strong early on Sunday, forcing Myles Turner into foul trouble early. The Pacers’ star center had three fouls on him by the middle of the second quarter and ultimately finished with 10 points on 3-of-9 shooting.
Who didn’t play for the Hornets on Sunday at Indiana?
Mark Williams, who’s still nursing a left foot injury, was ruled out and did not play Sunday.
The Hornets center returned to action multiple times this past week, most recently putting up 12 points over 11 minutes Saturday against Cleveland. Nick Richards suited up after initially being listed as questionable with a right ankle sprain.
LaMelo Ball (left calf), Miles Bridges (right knee), Moussa Diabate (illness), Tre Mann (disc irritation), Tidjane Salaün (left ankle) and Grant Williams (right ACL) remained out for the Hornets.
Up next?
The Hornets return to action later this week when they play the Chicago Bulls at 8 p.m. Friday at the United Center. Their next home game is at 7 p.m. next Monday against the Philadelphia 76ers.
This story was originally published December 8, 2024 at 8:18 PM with the headline "Hornets win! Emphatic Brandon Miller dunk leads Charlotte past Indiana Pacers on the road."
