With under a minute left and the Hornets trailing by two, Brandon Miller rose for a three-pointer that would have tied the game. Joel Embiid met it at the apex. The block sent the ball sideways, the possession died, and 19,077 people at Spectrum Center watched Paul George bury a three on the other end that made the final score 118-114.
That was Saturday night in Charlotte. The biggest regular season game since 2016, and it ended with the other team's center swatting away the last good look the Hornets had.
Charlotte led by 13 in the second half. They scored 17 points in the fourth quarter. The Philadelphia 76ers walked out of uptown with a win that snapped the Hornets' five-game winning streak and may have decided the Eastern Conference play-in race.
Embiid Did What Embiid Does
Joel Embiid, two games into his return from a 13-game absence, finished with 29 points on 8-of-19 shooting and got to the free-throw line 13 times, converting 10. The block on Miller will be the image that stays — but the damage was accumulating long before that. Embiid drew fouls that Charlotte's interior couldn't absorb and hit threes (3-of-6) that stretched a defense already scrambling to contain Tyrese Maxey's drives.
George finished with 26 points and 13 rebounds. Maxey added 26, 7 rebounds, and 8 assists on 10-of-18 from the field.
Philadelphia put three players over 25 points. Charlotte had one.
Miller Deserved Better Than This
Brandon Miller was the best player on the floor for most of the night — 29 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists, 5-of-11 from three. The late drives, the pull-up threes, the playmaking — all of it was there. On a night when Charlotte needed a franchise player to show up, Miller showed up.
LaMelo Ball did not. Ball finished 7-of-26 from the field and 5-of-18 from three. He still managed 20 points and 8 assists — the talent doesn't vanish — but on a night when Charlotte needed its point guard shooting well, the shots didn't fall. In the fourth quarter, with the lead evaporating, Ball went cold.
Kon Knueppel grabbed 11 rebounds — a double-double with his 11 points — but shot 3-of-14 from the floor. His three triples bring his season total to 256, five shy of Kemba Walker's franchise record of 261. Coby White added 16 off the bench on 6-of-11 shooting, the one Hornet who found efficiency when it mattered. It wasn't enough.
Charlotte Has Not Been to the Playoffs Since 2016
Charlotte falls to 39-35 with eight games remaining. Philadelphia improves to 41-33 and solidifies its grip on the 7th seed — meaning if the season ended today, the 76ers would host the 7-vs-8 play-in game, not play in the elimination round.
The Hornets, who entered the night in ninth, remain there. The math that was clear two weeks ago is clearer now: Charlotte has almost no margin left. Every remaining loss is a step toward the 9-vs-10 elimination game in Miami. An entire generation of Hornets fans has never seen this team in the postseason. Saturday was supposed to change the trajectory. Instead it confirmed what ten years have taught Charlotte to expect.
Boston comes to Spectrum Center tomorrow night for the back end of a home back-to-back. Then Brooklyn, Phoenix, Indiana, Minnesota, Boston again, and the regular season finale at Madison Square Garden on April 12. Eight games. No margin.
| Hornets | 76ers | |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 | 36 | 25 |
| Q2 | 33 | 39 |
| Q3 | 28 | 28 |
| Q4 | 17 | 26 |
| Final | 114 | 118 |
Charlotte hosts the Celtics on Sunday. There is no time to sit with this one.