Charlotte’s Strong Start Unravels as Second-Half Struggles Continue This Season Under Charles Lee.

The Charlotte Hornets couldn’t hold onto their early momentum Saturday night, falling 122–105 to the Minnesota Timberwolves at Spectrum Center. Charlotte led by six at halftime, but a things started to get away from them late in the third quarter.

Miles Bridges came out firing with 18 first-quarter points and finished with 30 on the night, carrying the Hornets’ offense through much of the first half. LaMelo Ball added 18 points and eight assists, but as has become a theme early in the season, Charlotte couldn’t sustain its energy or execution beyond halftime.

Minnesota flipped the script in the third, outscoring the Hornets 36–18 behind Julius Randle’s 30-point performance. The Timberwolves shot 47 percent from three and pounded the glass, led by Rudy Gobert’s 15 rebounds and 14 points. Donte DiVincenzo also caught fire in the third, with a flurry of perimeter shooting.

Bridges’ scoring dried up as Minnesota threw double teams his way, and the Hornets’ second-unit offense sputtered again. The Timberwolves turned defensive stops into transition buckets and quickly built a double-digit lead they never relinquished.

There is a sense in the fan base that Charles Lee is starting to play around a little too much with his rotations causing the Hornets to lose momentum and some of these leads that they create throughout the first half of games.

Whether or not that's actually the cause of the problem has yet to be determined. That constant shuffling around of rotations can definitely have an effect on rhythm and communication, particularly on defense, where late-game lapses have caused games to get out of reach late.

Lee’s approach shows he’s still evaluating who can handle closing minutes, but until he settles on a more stable core, the lack of continuity is keeping Charlotte from finishing games with the same cohesion they start them with.

The loss drops Charlotte to 2–4 and extends its early-season frustrations in playing two consistent halves. They’ll get a short turnaround before hosting the Utah Jazz tomorrow night.