Paul George’s 41-Point Performance Boosts Clippers Past Hornets, 130-118

The Hornets fall to 18-56 on the season.

Mar 31, 2024; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; LA Clippers forward Paul George (13) / Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The Charlotte Hornets capped off what has been a lackluster month of basketball with another loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. Charlotte was averaging a meager 101 PPG for the majority of March, but has now scored 118 points in two of its last three games. 

After a somewhat competitive start that saw three lead changes in eight minutes, the Clippers managed to secure a 31-25 lead prior to the start of the second quarter. From there, L.A. proved to be comfortably in control for the remainder of the contest. 

Miles Bridges and Brandon Miller both turned in respectable scoring performances, but a vintage 41-point performance from Paul George proved to be too much for the Hornets. 

Best of the night: Brandon Miller

The rookie sensation hit a career-milestone tonight by recording his 25th 20+ point game in the NBA. Miller has now averaged 20.5 PPG over the last six games and has shown steady improvement throughout his debut season. His emergence as a consistent scoring option is arguably the lone bright spot of the season for Charlotte. 

Worst of the night: Personal Fouls 

Charlotte committed a total of 25 personal fouls, and it ultimately resulted in the Clippers scoring 30 additional points from the charity stripe. Despite scoring the most points that they have seen in a month, the Hornets simply couldn’t get out of their own way. Charlotte actually scored more total FGs than the Clippers, but the disparity in free throw attempts were simply too much to bear. It’s unfortunate that one of the rare scoring nights for the Hornets had to be wasted, but nevertheless, it’s encouraging to see your star rookie find some offensive success against the likes of Kawhi Leonard.