Brandon Miller's Career-High 39 Lifts Hornets Past Wizards, 110-103

Miller's night rewrites the record book

Brandon Miller gave the Spectrum Center crowd a night to remember on Monday, scoring a career-high 39 points as the Charlotte Hornets beat the Washington Wizards 110-103. The victory, played on Monday evening in Charlotte and in the early hours of Tuesday in Tbilisi, moved Charlotte to 3-1 for the season, its first 3-1 start since 2021-22, while Washington slipped to 2-2. Miller did far more than lead all scorers. He shot 15-of-28 from the field, including 5-of-10 from three-point range, and added six rebounds, one assist, three steals and two blocks, finishing at plus-16. It was the second straight game in which he had scored at least 30 points, following his 34-point performance against Miami two days earlier, and it confirmed how central he has become to a Hornets side still missing key players.

A first half built on the glass

The history arrived before halftime. With just over eight minutes left in the second quarter, Miller knocked down his 500th career three-pointer, becoming the second-fastest player in NBA history to reach that mark. He did it in 170 games, behind only Duncan Robinson, who needed 152 games, and well ahead of Stephen Curry, who took 221 games. Miller had 18 points by halftime, and Charlotte led 54-44 at the break after outscoring Washington 35-23 in the second quarter. The opening quarter had gone the other way, with Washington ahead 21-19, but Charlotte's second-quarter surge changed the shape of the game.

Rebounding was the foundation. Charlotte outrebounded Washington 54-41 overall, and the first-half margin was even starker at 30-19. That edge produced 19 second-chance points before halftime, while Washington, a team that likes to run, recorded zero fast-break points in the first half. Moussa Diabate was central to that control, finishing with 11 points and 17 rebounds, while Naz Reid added 18 points and 12 rebounds. Grayson Allen contributed 15 points off the bench. For a Hornets team without Coby White, out with a calf injury, and Kon Knueppel, out with a hamstring injury, that collective work on the glass mattered as much as Miller's shooting.

Washington's stars keep it close

Washington refused to go away, and its two stars kept the contest alive. Anthony Davis led the visitors with 29 points and 10 rebounds, shooting 11-of-22 from the field and 3-of-6 from three-point range. Trae Young added 22 points and 10 assists, with six rebounds, running the offence and repeatedly finding Davis, including on a spectacular lob dunk that briefly quieted the home crowd. Kyshawn George scored 20 points in this game, on 8-of-14 shooting, continuing a strong start to his season. George's 22 points had come in Washington's previous game, the win over Chicago, not here, and the distinction matters: on Monday he was effective, but he was not quite the force he had been two days earlier.

Washington also had to cope without its own missing star. Top pick AJ Dybantsa sat out again with an ankle sprain suffered in the preseason, leaving Davis and Young to carry a heavy load. Charlotte edged the third quarter 26-24, and although a 9-2 burst early in the second half cut the deficit to three points, the Hornets held firm. Each time Washington threatened, however, Charlotte found an answer, often through an offensive rebound or a timely Miller basket. The Hornets protected the ball far better than they had in their opening games, committing a season-low 11 turnovers, a discipline that denied Washington the easy transition chances it wanted.

The closing stretch and what it means

Charlotte closed the game with composure. Washington won the fourth quarter 35-30, but the Hornets never surrendered the lead they had built, and Miller's late scoring kept the visitors at arm's length. For Charlotte, the win was about more than one night. Miller signed a five-year, 209 million dollar rookie-scale extension the previous week, and performances like this one suggest why the franchise committed to him as its cornerstone. He has now produced back-to-back high-scoring games while carrying extra responsibility in the absence of White and Knueppel, and his combination of outside shooting, length and defensive activity gives head coach Charles Lee a player opponents must plan around.

For Washington, the lessons were clear. Davis and Young produced the numbers expected of a star pairing, and George again reached 20 points, but the Wizards were beaten on the boards and beaten to loose balls, and their half-court offence too often stalled into Davis isolations in the first half. Head coach Brian Keefe will want more from the supporting cast and a far stronger defensive rebounding effort when the teams meet again. Charlotte now travels to Detroit on Wednesday, while Washington heads to Cleveland the same evening. If Miller keeps shooting like this, and if Charlotte keeps winning the rebounding battle, the Hornets' promising start may prove to be more than an early-season surprise.