The Sacramento Kings couldn’t overcome their season-long struggle with the 3-point line in a lopsided loss to the Charlotte Hornets.
Coby White came off the bench to spearhead a record-tying 3-point barrage while leading the red-hot Hornets to a 134-90 victory over the Kings before a sellout crowd of 19,450 at Spectrum Center in Charlotte.
White scored 27 points for the Hornets (38-34), who have won four in a row and 22 of 28 dating back to Jan. 22. White went 9 of 12 from the field and 6 of 8 from 3-point range to help the Hornets match a franchise record with 26 3-point goals.
LaMelo Ball had 20 points, six rebounds and eight assists for Charlotte. Moussa Diabate posted a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Rookie Kon Knueppel had 14 points.
Daeqwon Plowden came off the bench to score a career-high 22 points for the Kings (19-54), who had won five of their previous eight games. Devin Carter scored 18 points, Maxime Raynaud added 16 points and Malik Monk matched his career high with 14 assists.
The Hornets went 26 of 55 from 3-point range, converting at a rate of 47.3%. Meanwhile, the Kings went 9 of 28, shooting 32.1%. Going into the game, the Kings were 30th in the NBA in 3-point shooting (.339) and 30th in opponent’s 3-point percentage (.380).
The Hornets went up by 12 in the opening period and led 34-25 going into the second quarter. Charlotte extended its lead to 17 early in the second period and led 72-47 at the halftime break after outscoring Sacramento 9-0 over the final 2:10.
White led all scorers with 17 points after going 6 of 9 from the field and 4 of 6 from 3-point range in the opening half. The Hornets amassed a 30-19 rebounding advantage while outscoring the Kings 20-2 on second-chance points.
The Kings were trailing by 26 early in the second half when things got really ugly. Miller, Ball and Miles Bridges combined for four 3-pointers as part of a 15-0 run as the Hornets opened up a 98-57 lead. Charlotte led by as many as 46 in the fourth quarter.
The Hornets finished with a 57-35 rebounding advantage. They outscored the Kings 30-6 on second-chance points.
Injury report
Plowden was cleared to play despite dealing with right foot soreness. Precious Achiuwa (lower back soreness), Nique Clifford (left foot soreness), Killian Hayes (left foot soreness) and Russell Westbrook (right foot soreness) were ruled out along with Drew Eubanks (thumb), De’Andre Hunter (eye), Zach LaVine (finger), Keegan Murray (ankle) and Domantas Sabonis (knee).
Up next
The Kings will visit the Orlando Magic on Thursday at Kia Center in the second game of their road trip.
The Magic (38-33) had lost five in a row going into Tuesday’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Orlando is eighth in the Eastern Conference, 1 ½ games behind the Atlanta Hawks for the sixth and final automatic playoff berth.
The Kings didn’t fare well when they played Orlando on Feb. 19 in Sacramento. Paolo Banchero scored 30 points and the Magic set a franchise record with 27 3-pointers while rolling to a 131-94 victory over the Kings.
This story was originally published March 24, 2026 at 6:39 PM.
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Jason Anderson is The Sacramento Bee’s Kings beat writer. He is a Sacramento native and a graduate of Fresno State, where he studied journalism and college basketball under the late Jerry Tarkanian.