Charlotte Hornets fall to Luka-led Lakers, despite Miles Bridges’ big night
The Charlotte Hornets started fast and rallied late in a 121-111 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday night at Spectrum Center.
Led by a 34-point effort from Miles Bridges, the home team got off to a strong offensive start before making it a two-possession game in the final minute of regulation.
Luka Dončić had his way against the Hornets’ defense throughout the night, knocking down five 3-pointers in a 38-point performance. The Lakers’ Austin Reaves added 24 points for the high-scoring backcourt. Los Angeles improved to 8-3 with the win, and the Hornets fall to 3-7.
“I loved the way we finished that game, committing to try to get the ball out of Dončić’s hands, scrambling, creating some turnovers, trying to get other guys to make some plays,” Charlotte head coach Charles Lee said. “For the most part, when we’re playing with the pass — at one point I think we were shooting around 80% on assisted field goals. When the ball gets sticky, that’s when we don’t get as great of shot quality.”
Knueppel posts a double-double in the losing effort
The Hornets’ rookies continue impressing throughout the early goings of this season.
Kon Knueppel recorded a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds and helped his team late. The rookie from Duke got one of his nine assists on a late Bridges 3-pointer — along with knocking down three key free throws in the fourth quarter — as he nearly had a triple-double in 38 minutes.
Point guard Collin Sexton scored in double figures with a 13-point night, and Sion James had seven points. But the Hornets turned the ball over 22 times Monday night, and that sealed any shot at victory.
“Losing is frustrating, but we’ll keep at it,” Knueppel said. “I think we’ve seen a couple of failures to execute down the stretch, but bottom line, I think it’s just turnovers. ... It’s really hard to win in this league. We shot (47.2)% from three (Monday night), and we lost the game because we can’t take care of the ball.”
Bridges helps Charlotte have a chance
Bridges tossed an alley-oop to Moussa Diabaté that extended the Charlotte lead late in the first half. Diabaté also blocked a Rui Hachimura shot in the first quarter before the Hornets got the ball to Tre Mann, who knocked down the ensuing 3-pointer on the other end.
Charlotte cut it to a 10-point deficit midway through the fourth quarter. It had totaled just 15 points in the third quarter and fell behind by as many as 18 points.
A 3-pointer from Liam McNeeley brought it back to single digits, but Bridges fouled Dončić on a made basket, and the Lakers maintained their advantage of at least three possessions until the final minute.
Bridges nailed a 3-pointer from the corner during the final minute that made it 117-111. McNeeley and DeAndre Ayton lined up for a jump ball with 22.4 seconds left, Charlotte eventually got the ball back with a chance — and James missed the 3-point attempt.
“If it tied the game, I would’ve liked it way better,” Bridges said. “But you’ve got to play to the end, play until the clock hits zero. We almost made a comeback there, but we put ourselves in a hole in that third quarter. If we do a better job, we’ll be good.”
What's next for Charlotte?
The Hornets, who dropped to 3-7, return to Spectrum Center for another home game at 7 p.m. Wednesday against the Milwaukee Bucks.
This story was originally published November 10, 2025 at 10:03 PM with the headline "Charlotte Hornets fall to Luka-led Lakers, despite Miles Bridges’ big night."
