Nov 2, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard Collin Sexton (8) brings the ball up court against the Utah Jazz during the second quarter at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Hornets easily take care of Utah with no LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller

Originally posted on Charlotte Hornets on SI
By Owen O'Connor | Last updated Nov 2, 2025 9:42 PM ET

After dropping their last three, the Charlotte Hornets finished off their three game home stand with a matchup on Sunday night against the 2-3 Utah Jazz.

Entering Sunday, Charlotte would be missing it's top two players/scorers in LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller. It was the second night of a back-to-back, falling 122-105 to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night.

Despite missing their top two, the Hornets took control of the game out of the gate. Led by strong shooting performances from Duke rookies Kon Knueppel and Sion James, the Hornets had their best first quarter of the entire season, with a 39-25 lead headed into the second quarter.

Charlotte kept things going in the second quarter, with Tre Mann and Moussa Diabate contributing to keep building the Hornets lead. Despite 23 first half points from Lauri Markkanen, the Hornets entered halftime with a 71-48 lead. It's the second time this season the Hornets have recorded 70+ in the first half, with the first being the opening night victory over the Brooklyn Nets.

Though the Hornets got the lead up to 31, the Buzz started to find themselves in the same position they have the last three games: late third quarter issues. With some questionable officiating as well, the Hornets 31 point lead was dwindled down to just 16, and was 18 headed into the fourth quarter.

It was the rookies who helped put the game to bed in the fourth quarter.

In the fourth, the Hornets lead 112-94, and had seen some offensive struggles. From there, Kon Knueppel made a 9 foot hook shot, followed by a Ryan Kalkbrenner steal that led into a Sion James layup. The Hornets over this duration to extend their lead back up to 25 also forced 9 straight misses and 6 straight missed threes.

It was arguably the best win of the season for the Hornets, as they took down Utah 126-103 to advance to 3-4 on the year.

Sion James

It was a tremendous game from Sion James, who finished with a career-high 15 points on 6-8 (3-5 3PT), with 5 rebounds, and 3 assists. The Hornets rookie has looked incredible to start his young career, and has clearly will be an important piece to the Hornets in both the now and the future.