The Charlotte Hornets rallied from 19 points down in the second quarter to beat the Portland Trail Blazers 103-101.
The Hornets trailed 43-24 with 8:44 left in the second quarter. They outscored the Trail Blazers 79-58 the rest of the way.
The Trail Blazers had the ball down 1 with 1:18 left, but Kon Knueppel stole the ball from Robert Williams III, lifting the Hornets’ chance to win from 59% to 71%. A basket would have put the Trail Blazers ahead.
Brandon Miller’s 2 free throws with 3.1 seconds left made it 103-98 and put it away.
During clutch time, the Trail Blazers outscored the Hornets 12-11. Robert Williams III scored 4 of the Trail Blazers’ 12 on 2 for 4 shooting.
Miller had 23 points (10 in the third quarter), 9 rebounds and 3 steals, and Ryan Kalkbrenner added 13 points (12 in the paint) on 6 for 8 shooting off the bench. LaMelo Ball scored 12 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter.
For the Trail Blazers, Jerami Grant scored 24 points on 7 for 10 shooting, and Deni Avdija added 22 points and 7 assists.
The Trail Blazers got 10 offensive rebounds, about 4 fewer than usual for the shots they missed. Ball fouled out.