The Charlotte Hornets didn’t just beat the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday night — they made history doing it in several ways.
Charlotte rolled to a 131–99 win at the United Center, marking the largest margin of victory the Hornets have ever had over the Bulls. And for a team that had looked like it was simply trying to survive the last couple of games without two of its five starters, this performance felt like a reset back to who they’ve been since the calendar flipped.
The biggest reason? Getting Miles Bridges and Moussa Diabate back in the lineup after serving a four game suspension due to the Detroit brawl.
Their return immediately restored Charlotte’s identity. Bridges brought back the downhill scoring threat and physicality that forces defenses to collapse, while Diabate stabilized things defensively and on the glass.
Still, the night ultimately belonged to Kon Knueppel.
In the second half, Knueppel knocked down his 200th three-pointer of the season, reaching the milestone in just 58 games — the fastest any player in NBA history has ever done it. His quick-trigger confidence and off-ball movement continue to redefine what Charlotte can be offensively.
The Hornets aren’t building solely around one player, but Knueppel’s shooting gravity has quickly become one of the foundational pieces of what they’re trying to build toward long-term.
There was also a poetic subplot to the night.
Coby White made his Hornets debut against his former team, finishing with 10 points in his first appearance in Charlotte blue. While he’s still working his way into the rotation, his ability to provide instant offense off the bench adds another scoring dimension to a group that suddenly looks much deeper with everyone back in the fold.
With Bridges and Diabate returning, Knueppel making history from beyond the arc, and White making a strong first impression against the team that drafted him, Charlotte didn’t just win big — they looked like a team getting back to full strength and not missing a beat.
They're also a team that genuinely look like they're having a blast while playing like this and while playing together. The NBA stays locked on Charlotte.