Hornets storm back from 19 down to defeat Trail Blazers
Brandon Miller had 23 points and nine rebounds and Kon Knueppel added 15 points to help the Charlotte Hornets overcome a 19-point deficit and record a 103-101 victory over the host Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday night.
LaMelo Ball had 14 points in 22 minutes before fouling out as Charlotte improved to 11-1 in its last 12 road games. Ryan Kalkbrenner added 13 points and Miles Bridges and Sion James had 11 points apiece as the Hornets won for the seventh time in the past nine games.
Jerami Grant scored 24 points and Deni Avdija added 22 points and seven assists for the Trail Blazers, who lost for the fourth time in the past six games.
Scoot Henderson scored 17 points off the bench, Donovan Clingan added 11 points and 11 rebounds and Toumani Camara also scored 11 points for Portland.
Bridges was just 2 of 13 from the field but sank two free throws to give Charlotte a 99-98 lead with 1:18 remaining. He made two more free throws with nine seconds left to give the Hornets a three-point lead.
Miller made two free throws with 3.1 seconds left to seal it. Henderson drained a half-court shot for Portland as time expired for the final margin.
Ball's 3-pointer with 7:28 left in the contest gave the Hornets an 88-87 edge, the team's first lead since the game was less than 2 1/2 minutes old.
Charlotte connected on 38.6% of its field-goal attempts and made 14 of 38 from 3-point range.
The Trail Blazers made 42.2% of their shots, including 16 of 42 from behind the arc.
Henderson had 14 first-half points as Portland led 55-46 at the break. Knueppel had 11 points in the half for the Hornets.
The Trail Blazers led 34-20 after the first quarter and increased the lead to 43-24 on Henderson's 3-pointer with 8:44 left in the half.
Charlotte got back into the game in the third quarter when it scored 24 of 36 points to move within one with 1:44 left.
Avdija buried a trey with 1.6 seconds left as the Trail Blazers took an 82-78 lead into the final quarter.