The Charlotte Hornets won 12 of their last 15 games. Four straight victories, all by double digits. A team that sat at 16-28 after a January loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers has climbed to 38-34 and pulled within two games of sixth place in the Eastern Conference. Something big was brewing.
Tuesday night, it arrived.
The Hornets annihilated the Sacramento Kings 134-90, tying a franchise record of 26 made three-pointers and producing the fourth-largest margin of victory in team history. Eight players connected from deep. Seven made multiple threes. Charlotte led 72-47 at halftime and pushed the advantage to 46 points in the fourth quarter. The Kings had no answers, shooting 37-of-91 from the floor while getting out-rebounded 57-35.
Highlighted by a franchise-record-tying 26 3PM, the Hornets produced one of their most complete performances of the season on Tuesday night, taking down the Sacramento Kings, 134-90, for the fourth-largest win in team history.
📝 https://t.co/2QhQyWvhXW | @LunazulTequila pic.twitter.com/loncZq2IEd— Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) March 25, 2026
Coby White led all scorers with 27 points on 6-of-8 shooting from three off the bench. Moussa Diabate posted a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Rookie Kon Knueppel added 14 points and moved into second place in franchise history for three-pointers made in a single season with 247, needing just 14 more to pass Kemba Walker. The 26 threes matched the franchise mark set March 14, 2025, in San Antonio.
Only three wins in Hornets history were larger: a 61-point demolition of the Memphis Grizzlies in March 2018 (140-79), a 55-point road blowout of the Utah Jazz in January 2026 (150-95), and a 52-point victory over the Philadelphia 76ers in February 1992 (136-84).
While the franchise had a night in history, one of its cornerstone players also had a trip to the franchise record books.
LaMelo Ball Moves to Second Place on Hornets’ All-Time 3-Pointers List
LaMelo Ball finished with 20 points on 6-of-13 shooting from deep, adding eight assists and six rebounds in just 25 minutes. The efficient night pushed his career three-point total to 931, passing Dell Curry (929) for second place on the franchise’s all-time list.
The milestone capped a dominant stretch for Ball, who was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week on Monday for the first time in his career. During that week, he averaged 26.3 points, 7.3 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 2.3 steals while shooting 50% from the field and 41.2% from three. Charlotte went 3-0.
our guy balled out and got eastern conference player of the week🕺
🔗 https://t.co/iXzxcWIIyw | #HiveMentality pic.twitter.com/W83bc2sCl5— Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) March 23, 2026
Ball has played 61 games this season, his second-highest total since entering the league. When asked about Charlotte’s surge, he pointed to the locker room.
“Everybody friends, you know everybody cool, looking out for one another so it’s just all love for real,” Ball said in a recent interview. “And you feel like a real family, and if somebody is down we’ll pick them up.”
Charlotte hosts the New York Knicks on Thursday in the fifth of its seven-game homestand. For a franchise that hasn’t made the playoffs since 2016, the wait may finally be ending.
Related: Kon Knueppel Card Market Hits New High With Record-Breaking Sale
This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Mar 25, 2026, where it first appeared in the NBA section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
