The Charlotte Hornets controlled the tempo from the opening tip and never trailed, cruising to a 109-93 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday afternoon at a sold-out Spectrum Center. Brandon Miller led the way with 26 points and 8 rebounds, LaMelo Ball orchestrated the offense with 8 assists, and the Hornets’ 29-point first quarter set the tone for a wire-to-wire win that moved Charlotte to 30-31 on the season.
Quarter-by-Quarter Breakdown
First Quarter: Charlotte Comes Out Firing (CHA 29, POR 17)
The Hornets wasted no time establishing control. Charlotte erupted for 29 points in the opening frame while holding Portland to just 17, building a 12-point cushion before most fans had settled into their seats. The Trail Blazers struggled to find any offensive rhythm, and the Hornets’ ball movement — which would finish with 24 team assists — was sharp from the start.
Second Quarter: Portland Responds (CHA 22, POR 26)
Portland finally found its footing in the second quarter, outscoring Charlotte 26-22 to cut into the deficit heading into halftime. Jrue Holiday helped stabilize the Trail Blazers’ offense, and Portland’s ability to push pace gave them a bit of life. At the break, Charlotte still held a comfortable lead, 51-43.
Third Quarter: Back and Forth, Hornets Maintain Edge (CHA 23, POR 24)
The third quarter was essentially even, with Portland edging Charlotte 24-23 to make it a 74-67 game entering the fourth. The Trail Blazers showed enough fight to keep things interesting, but they could never close the gap to fewer than single digits. Charlotte’s inability to extend the lead in the third set up a competitive fourth-quarter scenario, at least on paper.
Fourth Quarter: Hornets Pull Away for Good (CHA 35, POR 26)
Any suspense evaporated quickly in the fourth quarter. Charlotte outscored Portland 35-26 in the final frame to seal the victory convincingly. The Hornets’ offense clicked down the stretch, and their superior rebounding — 55 boards compared to Portland’s 39 — gave them extra possessions when they needed them most. The 16-point final margin was a fair reflection of Charlotte’s dominance over the full 48 minutes.
Key Performers
Brandon Miller, SF — Charlotte Hornets
Miller was the game’s best player from start to finish. The second-year forward posted 26 points and 8 rebounds, earning the game’s top efficiency rating. His ability to score at all three levels and make plays off the bounce gave Portland’s defense no clean answer. Miller’s development as Charlotte’s go-to scoring option continues to be one of the more encouraging storylines in the Eastern Conference.
LaMelo Ball, PG — Charlotte Hornets
Ball didn’t lead the team in scoring, but his fingerprints were all over the victory. His 8 assists were the game’s top mark, and his playmaking kept the Hornets’ offense running smoothly. Ball’s ability to find shooters in rhythm helped Charlotte connect on 16 of 42 three-point attempts (38.1%), a strong clip that proved decisive.
Moussa Diabate, F — Charlotte Hornets
Diabate was a force on the glass, hauling in a game-high 11 rebounds to anchor Charlotte’s massive rebounding advantage. The Hornets out-rebounded Portland by 16 boards on the night, and Diabate’s work in the paint was central to that edge.
Jrue Holiday, G — Portland Trail Blazers
Holiday was Portland’s most reliable offensive weapon, finishing as the team’s leading scorer with 25 points and 4 assists. He also posted the Trail Blazers’ top efficiency rating on the night. Despite Holiday’s best efforts, Portland couldn’t generate enough secondary scoring to mount a serious challenge, and the Trail Blazers’ three-point shooting (11-of-47, 23.4%) was a significant liability.
Donovan Clingan, C — Portland Trail Blazers
The Trail Blazers’ young center contributed 8 rebounds to lead Portland on the glass, but the Hornets’ collective rebounding effort overwhelmed Portland’s interior presence throughout the game.
Game Analysis
This game was defined by two clear factors: Charlotte’s dominant first quarter and Portland’s persistent three-point shooting struggles. The Hornets’ 29-point opening frame gave them the cushion they needed to weather Portland’s second-quarter surge, and once Charlotte reasserted control in the fourth, the outcome was never seriously in doubt.
The rebounding disparity told the larger story. Charlotte’s 55 rebounds to Portland’s 39 meant the Hornets were generating second-chance opportunities at a rate the Trail Blazers simply couldn’t match. Combined with 24 assists on 38 made field goals — a sign of genuine ball movement rather than isolation scoring — Charlotte’s offense was efficient enough to keep Portland at arm’s length despite a modest 41.8% field-goal percentage.
Portland’s three-point strategy backfired on the afternoon. The Trail Blazers launched 47 attempts from beyond the arc but converted just 11, a 23.4% clip that kept their offense from ever truly threatening the Hornets’ lead. Jrue Holiday was excellent, but 25 points from one player isn’t enough to overcome cold perimeter shooting and a 16-rebound deficit on the road.
Charlotte’s free-throw shooting left something to be desired — the Hornets converted just 17 of 25 attempts (68%) — but with the game’s outcome largely settled by the fourth quarter, it didn’t prove costly. The Hornets’ depth and rebounding were the clear winning formula on this afternoon.
Standings and Series Implications
With the win, the Charlotte Hornets improve to 30-31, moving back to the .500 mark and continuing to hover on the fringe of the Eastern Conference playoff picture. Their 13-16 home record still needs improvement, but wins like this one — built on defense, rebounding, and ball movement — are exactly the kind of performance Charlotte needs to string together down the stretch. The Portland Trail Blazers fall to 29-32 and have now lost ground in a crowded Western Conference race, with their 13-17 road record a clear area of concern as the regular season winds toward its conclusion. Both teams figure to be active players in the final weeks of the season as they push for postseason positioning in their respective conferences. Attendance of 19,634 filled Spectrum Center, giving Charlotte a genuine home-court boost on a winning afternoon.
