How win over Phoenix shows Hornets could play spoiler in postseason
Put Jordan Ott among the believers in the Charlotte Hornets.
“That’s the exciting part for those guys,” the Phoenix Suns coach said, “that they haven’t even come close to their ceiling. And they’re fighting to get into the playoffs just like us.”
Here’s the kicker: Ott said that about 90 minutes before tipoff and prior to Kon Knueppel etching his name into the franchise’s record books.
Upending Phoenix 127-107 in front of yet another sellout crowd Thursday night was just what the Hornets needed in their jockeying for the NBA postseason. With Miami and Orlando idle, the eighth-place Hornets gained ground in the Eastern Conference standings and moved within 1.5 games of Toronto for seventh place.
Charlotte sits a half-game ahead of Orlando and a full game in front of Miami.
Should the Hornets, Miami and Orlando finish with the same record, the tie would be broken via the best winning percentage in all games involving the three. Since the Southeast Division games have been completed for 2025-26, that order is already set: Miami holds the edge followed by the Hornets and then the Magic.
“We just got to focus on this most important thing,” Coby White said. “I was talking to some of my folks (Wednesday) night, and they were like, ‘You guys are in eighth.’ And the first thing I said was, ‘We’ve just got to focus on us. We can’t worry about what everybody else, what other teams are doing, where they are in the standings — whatever it may be.’
“We’ve just got to focus on us and take care of our business. And if we take care of our business, whatever happens, happens. We can’t control what other teams got going on. We’re worried about our process and focusing on how can we continue to get better and obviously get wins.”
Knueppel’s play is a big reason the Hornets (41-36) are in contention to end the NBA’s longest playoff drought. Knueppel established a new team record for made 3-pointers in a season with 261, topping what Kemba Walker did in 2018-19.
“Good to get this one tonight because of the previous two games when I had one three combined,” Knueppel said. “But I told (Kemba) a couple days ago that he should have shot more threes. He didn’t shoot enough threes when he was playing.”
Here are some key takeaways from the Hornets’ second straight win:
Coby the catalyst
As if there haven’t been countless instances where Coby White shows his worth, the first half against the Suns served as another reminder.
With the Hornets needing a spark on both sides of the ball, White essentially took matters into his own hands after Charlotte’s less-than-inspiring opening quarter. White poured in 10 of his 12 first-half points in fueling the Hornets’ 33-point second quarter, keying the Hornets’ turnaround that transformed an early 10-point deficit into a six-point advantage.
That put the Hornets on the proper track.
“I just wanted to come in and help any way that I can, but I can’t take all the credit,” White said. “Ryan (Kalkbrenner) came in and added a huge boost for us on both ends of the floor. His presence, physicality, creating second-chance opportunities for us offensively, screening, just being engaged, being locked in and then obviously had a big-time block that really flipped the script in that second quarter.
“So, without him none of that happened. Just the physicality and force he came in the game with really changed the complexion of the game.”
White is invaluable.
“It’s been a great luxury to have,” Lee said. “Coby’s done a really good job of finding a way to get up to speed quickly and make an impact on both ends of the floor. I see him get more and more into a rhythm every game he has. The fact that I can use him in a lot of different ways is really, really good.
“He’s been open-minded. There’s been times where we have him out there with LaMelo, and it gives you an extra ball handler versus teams that are trying to pressure us. He also can be the guy we can play through a bunch of times if some of the key starters are out of the lineup, and he’s one of the main reserves out there.”
Brandon Miller gets another
Add another record to Brandon Miller’s growing list.
In going 3 for 8 beyond the arc, the third-year swingman has now drained a 3-pointer in 54 consecutive games, breaking the team’s non-single-season mark previously held by LaMelo Ball.
That comes after Miller already established the Hornets’ single-season record for consecutive games with at least a made 3-pointer at 44 when he drained one in Sacramento on March 11.
“You’ve got to be consistent,” Knueppel said. “Credit to C. Lee. He draws up a lot of good stuff and Brandon’s really dynamic. In those handoff and pin-down situations, he really flies off those screens and shoots that bullet that goes in.
“You’ve got to be really consistent and bring it on a nightly basis. So, obviously that’s what Brandon does.”
Miller’s contributions go way beyond scoring and his play is a huge reason the Hornets are on their current trajectory.
“As the whole team really started to take a jump, Brandon became more vocal about wanting to become a two-way player,” Lee said. “I thought that his actions backed it up even more as we started putting him on a lot of the primary scorers while also playing through him offensively, and he’s giving it to us at both ends.
“His ability to play long stretches during the game is helping us. So I’ve been really impressed with helping elevate our team to another level.”
Welcome back, Mark Williams
An old friend returned to familiar stomping grounds.
Mark Williams had missed the Suns’ previous 15 games because of a left foot stress reaction, but he was healthy enough to play against the Hornets. Coming off the bench, the former Hornet checked in for the first time with 6:06 remaining in the first quarter just as a tribute video to him ran on the board at center court.
Williams, who holds the Hornets’ franchise record for consecutive made field goals at 18, finished with 12 points to go with four rebounds.
“Obviously when I came in the video was playing,” Williams said. “So seeing that and then being out on the court right away, tried to focus on the game, really make my impact on both sides of the ball as best as I could.”
On draft night this past June, the Hornets sent Vasilije Micić, the 29th pick in the 2025 draft used on Liam McNeeley, and a 2029 first-round pick for Williams, marking the second time he’d been moved after the initial trade to the Los Angeles Lakers for Dalton Knecht and draft compensation got rescinded because of Williams failing a physical.
Williams never played in more than 44 games during his three injury-riddled seasons with the Hornets, but has already topped that in his initial year in Phoenix. The soon-to-be restricted free agent logged action in 57 games, posting 11.6 points, 8.1 rebounds and an assist per game while shooting 63.3% from the floor.
His form was on display against the Hornets.
“It was cool,” Williams said. “I got some mixed emotions, but yeah it’s good to be back. Obviously, this is where I was drafted, where my career started, the organization that took a chance on me. So, mixed emotions really though for sure.”
As in good and bad? Happy and sad?
“A little bit of everything,” Williams said. “I was here, they traded me twice. Yeah, so I’ll just leave it at that.”
This story was originally published April 2, 2026 at 9:39 PM.
