Hornets outrebound Wizards 54-41, Miller scores 39 in Washington's 110-103 loss

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Washington Wizards shot better than the Charlotte Hornets on Monday night and still left Spectrum Center with a 110-103 loss, undone by a 20-offensive-rebound night from the home team and a career-high 39 points from Brandon Miller.

Washington fell to 2-2 overall and 1-1 on the road. Charlotte improved to 3-1, its third win in four games to open the season.

Second quarter turned it

The Wizards led 21-19 after one period, but the Hornets poured in 35 points in the second quarter to Washington's 23 and took a 54-44 lead into halftime. Charlotte led for 82 percent of the game and built its largest lead at 14 points. Washington's largest lead was four, and there were eight lead changes.

The Wizards closed with a 35-point fourth quarter, their best period of the night, but the Hornets answered with 30 of their own to hold on.

The glass was the difference

Washington shot 48 percent from the field (41-of-85) to Charlotte's 43 percent (42-of-97), and the Wizards outscored the Hornets 56-50 in the paint. But Charlotte took 12 more shots thanks to a 54-41 rebounding edge that included 20 offensive boards to Washington's 10.

Moussa Diabate pulled down 17 rebounds, 11 of them on the offensive end, to go with 11 points and three blocks. Naz Reid added 12 rebounds and 18 points.

Miller did most of the scoring damage, going 15-of-28 from the field and 5-of-10 from three with three steals and two blocks. Grayson Allen added 15 points off the bench, hitting all seven of his free throws.

Charlotte also scored 19 points off Washington's 14 turnovers and held a 10-4 edge in fast-break points.

Davis, Young carry the load

Anthony Davis led the Wizards with 29 points and 10 rebounds, going 11-of-22 from the field and 3-of-6 from three without a turnover in 36 minutes. Trae Young posted 22 points and 10 assists on 10-of-20 shooting, and Kyshawn George scored 20 on 8-of-14 shooting, including 2-of-2 from deep, though he committed four turnovers and five fouls.

Alex Sarr finished with 12 points, six rebounds and two blocks. Bilal Coulibaly scored three points on 1-of-5 shooting and also picked up five fouls.

Washington's bench combined for 17 points. Tre Johnson scored seven on 3-of-8 shooting, Bub Carrington had six points and three assists, and Khris Middleton did not attempt a shot in 13 minutes. Deandre Ayton went scoreless with four rebounds and two assists in 12 minutes. The Hornets' reserves produced 29 points.

The Wizards shot 9-of-28 from three (32 percent) and 12-of-15 from the line.

Injury note

Forward Justin Champagnie is listed as day-to-day with a foot injury. He played four minutes, scoring two points with two rebounds.

Standings and what's next

Charlotte sits atop the Southeast Division at 3-1. Washington is third at 2-2, one game back of the Hornets and a half-game behind Atlanta.

The Wizards stay on the road and visit the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. ET.