01/08/2026, 3:31 AM

Struggles from deep vs. Toronto

Knueppel looked to be on his way to a nice scoring night after draining two of four three-pointers in the first quarter, but the rookie struggled with his shot for the rest of the contest, though his eight boards were his most in a game since Nov. 19 against the Pacers. Knueppel entered Wednesday's contest shooting 43.5 percent from three while attempting 8.3 three-pointers per game, so off nights are bound to happen from time to time. He'll aim to bounce back during the second leg of the Hornets' back-to-back set Thursday against the Pacers.

01/08/2026, 3:20 AM

Team's leading scorer off bench

Sexton ended up leading the Hornets in points during Wednesday's low-scoring affair, as no other Charlotte player scored more than 15 points during the loss. It was the fifth time he scored 20-plus points in a game and the first time doing so since Nov. 28 against the Bulls. In his eight outings since returning from a seven-game absence due to a left quadriceps strain, Sexton has averaged 14.8 points, 3.8 assists, 1.5 rebounds, 1.5 threes and 0.9 steals over 21.9 minutes per game.

01/07/2026, 11:41 PM

Starting Wednesday

Brandon Miller (knee) is inactive for Wednesday's game, so James will get the spot-start. He'll be joined in the first unit by LaMelo Ball, Kon Knueppel, Miles Bridges and Moussa Diabate. As a starter this season, James owns averages of 6.5 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.2 triples per contest on 36/32/78 shooting splits.