The Charlotte Hornets are riding high on the road, while the Indiana Pacers are struggling to win regardless of venue.
The Hornets will look to extend their franchise-best road winning streak to nine games on Thursday night when they visit the Pacers in Indianapolis.
Brandon Miller scored 23 points and rookie Kon Knueppel added 21 to fuel Charlotte to a 131-99 romp over the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday. The victory was the second in a row and 12th in the past 15 games for the Hornets.
“It’s great, man. We’re just jelling as a team. We’re coming together as a team,” Miles Bridges said, per the (Raleigh) News & Observer. “And I haven’t seen this from the Hornets since 2022. So, it’s great for us.”
Bridges and Moussa Diabate returned from their respective four-game suspensions following their skirmish with the Detroit Pistons on Feb. 9. Bridges joined LaMelo Ball with 16 points on Tuesday, while Diabate recorded nine points and seven rebounds.
Coby White dazzled in his debut with the Hornets against his former team, collecting 10 points, four assists and three rebounds in 15 minutes off the bench.
“I think it just continues to give us more depth,” Charlotte head coach Charles Lee said. “I thought a lot of guys contributed while they were out and now looking forward to them kind of reacclimating with the group.
“Offensively, Moussa getting us extra possessions while also being a great pick-and-roll player and lob threat as well. And then Miles just being another ball-handler and creator. It was always nice to have.”
While the Hornets are ascending, the Pacers have plummeted into the cellar of the Eastern Conference. Indiana sustained its fourth loss in a row and eighth in the past 10 outings with a 135-114 setback to the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday.
Micah Potter and rookie Kam Jones provided bright spots, as each recorded a career-high point total in that loss. The former erupted for 23 while the latter had 13.
“He had one of those games where he was doing a lot of good things on the inside and on the outside offensively,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said of Potter, who made 9 of 11 shots from the floor and 3 of 5 from 3-point range. “His rebounding is usually pretty solid, the three 3s were timely, and he did some good things around the basket.”
Andrew Nembhard, who matched Potter with 23 points, praised Jones’ growth as a player.
“Experience is the best teacher in this game,” Nembhard said. “It comes with a comfortability. I think he’s shooting shots that are open, that come to him, and not passing them down.”
Quenton Jackson scored 15 points off the bench for the Pacers, who played without four-time All-Star Pascal Siakam (left wrist sprain) and Aaron Nesmith (sprained right ankle).
Siakam scored 22 points in Indiana’s 127-118 victory over the Hornets on Nov. 19. He added 30 points and 14 rebounds in the Pacers’ 114-112 triumph on Jan. 8, a decision that allowed Carlisle to record his 1,000th career coaching victory.
