What a gut punch for the Charlotte Hornets.

A night after getting ran off of the floor by the Wizards, the Hornets returned home to take on a Joel Embiid and LeBron James-less Philadelphia 76ers team that rolled into Charlotte with an Eastern Conference best 5-1 record.

The two teams traded jabs all night until it seemed like Charlotte landed a knockout blow by taking a seven-point lead with just under four minutes left in the contest.

However, the battle-tested Sixers got off the mat, punched back, and did what all great teams do: find a way to win when the deck is stacked against you. Behind Tyrese Maxey, Jaylen Brown, and VJ Edgecombe, Philadelphia mounted a late comeback and sent the Spectrum Center fans home with tricks, but no treats.

Below are a handful of stats, highlights, and takeaways bundled into a neat package I like to call the four-point play.

One Highlight of the Night

Sion James Throws Down the Hammer

Nobody needed a bucket like this more than Sion James.

Look at Sion James!

Tight in and out dribble to create some space before throwing down the dunk.

Any looks he can create like this in the half court are found money for the Hornets’ offense. pic.twitter.com/hlvzlIKMvM

— Matt Alquiza (@malquiza8) October 31, 2026

The second-year swingman has been in the crosshairs of fans that are frustrated with his lack of production on offense. While I think some of that frustration is misguided, there's no arguing that James has been a net-negative as an offensive player this season. Not only is he struggling as a three-point shooter, James generally isn't even looking in the direction of the basket when he puts the ball on the deck.

On this play, though, he put his head down and drove with bad intentions. More of that is needed from James, especially while Charlotte is undermanned.

Two Game-Defining Stats

1 First-Half Offensive Rebound
3 Points in the Final 3:41

Before the game tipped-off, I predicted that the Hornets would have a monster night on the glass. Charlotte is one of the league's premier two-way rebounding teams, whereas Philadelphia struggles on both the offensive and defensive boards, especially when Joel Embiid is off the floor.

The Hornets ended up winning the battle on the glass 38-35, but they got out-rebounded on the offensive glass by four (13-9). That second number is slightly misleading for a few reasons, though.

Charlotte pulled down a pair of offensive boards in the final 30 seconds after missing a couple of last-gasp shot attempts when they were down six with a miniscule chance at mounting a comeback.

On the other hand, Moussa Diabate doesn't get credit for offensive rebounds when he draws loose ball fouls after misses which he did a couple of times tonight.

All things considered, the battle on the boards was relatively even. However, this iteration of the Hornets has to out-rebound their opponents, especially on offense, to make up for their lack of shot creation while Coby White and Kon Knueppel are sidelined.

That struggle to create shots reared its ugly head in the closing minutes of tonight's game. Charlotte took a 101-94 lead with 3:41 left in the game, and at that moment, ESPN gave the Hornets a 90.6% chance to close it out.

Their next couple of possessions went like: Missed three, turnover, turnover, blocked shot, blocked shot, missed three, missed layup.

After Grayson Allen and Jaylen Brown got tangled up and received double technical fouls, Charlotte couldn't reclaim the momentum that spurred them into a fourth quarter lead.

Three Players of the Game

Grayson Allen
Moussa Diabate
Brandon Miller

Grayson Allen was unbelievable tonight.

He was smoldering hot in the first half, scoring 19 points on eight shots, including a last-minute bomb that he attempted from Statesville.

Grayson Allen in the first half:

19 points, 7/8 from the field, and 5/6 from deep including this 36-footer late in the 2nd quarter. pic.twitter.com/PsoHLdgGvr

— Matt Alquiza (@malquiza8) October 31, 2026

Charlotte leaned on the veteran guard to provide offense throughout his 30 minutes on the floor, but they also relied on him defensively. Allen drew the Jaylen Brown matchup a handful of times in the fourth quarter, and the willy veteran did an admirable job at slowing down the All-NBA forward.

The box score doesn't show it (10 points, eight rebounds, three assists, two blocks, -11), but Moussa Diabate was great tonight. His energy can't be quantified by statistics. However, it was clear to my eyes that Philadelphia had a hard time dealing with a loose Moose on the glass.

He's a shoo-in to lead the league in loose-ball fouls drawn for the second season running, right?

Brandon Miller, yet again, was the pillar of Charlotte's offensive attack. He finished the game with a team-high 24 points, chipped in with five assists, and pulled in three combined steals and blocks. I've been really impressed with Miller as a defensive playmaker early in the season, an area where his continued growth will only help this Hornets team as they get healthy.

Four Takeaways From the Loss

1. Royce O'Neale Starts the Second Half

When Royce O'Neale took the floor to start the second half, my mind immediately went to Sion James: the player he replaced.

However, as the half went on, I ultimately realized that O'Neale starting the second half in place of James said more about what Charlotte though about Christian Anderson Jr., not Sion.

In the final two quarters, James operated as the team's backup point guard, not Anderson Jr. The Hornets trust James implicitly, no matter what people on the outside think about the second-year guard, and their decision to let him run the second unit in Anderson's stead made that abundantly clear.

As of right now, I'm not ringing any alarm bells about Anderson Jr. Small guards notoriously take longer to develop, and the seasoning he'll get in the G-League once Coby White returns will do him well.

2. A Superstar Sequence From Brandon Miller

Brandon Miller wants to be known as an elite two-way player.

To be that, he needs to impact the game through more than just his volume scoring (which we already know he can do). A fourth quarter sequence, albeit in a loss, showed the potential that Miller has to affect games on both ends of the floor.

Miller sprung off of the floor to deny VJ Edgecombe an easy deuce off an offensive rebound before delivering a slick pocket pass to Moussa Diabate for a dunk on offense.

If the Hornets pull out a win here, this two-way sequence from Brandon Miller will be the defining moment of it.

Awesome block, and a slick pocket pass to Moussa for a hammer dunk. pic.twitter.com/QAjzpLwg0f

— Matt Alquiza (@malquiza8) November 1, 2026

Charlotte couldn't pull out the win, but having a forward who has the ability to pull out plays like this down the stretch of close games can be the ultimate trump card on the right night.

3. Tidjane Salaun Doing Things

Three things I saw Tidjane do tonight:

- Picked up Jaylen Brown at 3/4 court and hounded him for 20 seconds of the shot clock before the All-NBA forward grifted a questionable foul.

- Dunked all over Adem Bona with the shot clock on his back after shaking Labaron Philon with a nice head fake late in a possession.

Look at Tidjane too! What’s gotten into these guys? pic.twitter.com/iha9Q6gLX1

— Matt Alquiza (@malquiza8) November 1, 2026

- Knocked down a corner three on a beautifully executed play by Charlotte's offense.

Baby steps. Salaun played 12 minutes tonight and there was more good than bad throughout the course of them.

4. NBA Trivia During the Broadcast is a Treat

Bar trivia is one of my favorite extra-curricular activities. Combine that affinity with NBA history and Eric Collins' seemingly bottomless well of basketball tidbits, and you have a 30-second in-game segment on the broadcast that I absolutely adore.