Kon Knueppel didn’t need much time to set a new NBA record this season.
The Charlotte Hornets rookie is now the fastest player in league history to reach 100 career made 3-pointers. Knueppel needed just 29 games to hit that mark, which he did on Monday night in the Hornets’ 139-132 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. That’s 12 games faster than Lauri Markkanen needed when he set the record during his rookie season.
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Knueppel entered Monday’s game at Rocket Arena with 99 made 3-pointers in his career. He got it done off an assist from Sion James late in the first quarter of the contest.
Knueppel finished the night with 20 points in the loss, and shot 5-of-9 from behind the arc. He’s up to 105 made 3-pointers on the season, which is the second most in the league only behind Donovan Mitchell.
Kneuppel shattered the Hornets’ franchise record for fastest player to reach 100 made 3-pointers, too. Brandon Miller did so in 43 games during his rookie campaign.
Knueppel entered Monday averaging 19.4 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game this season. He’s leading all rookies in scoring, too. The Hornets selected him with the No. 4 overall pick out of Duke this past summer. He averaged 14.4 points and 2.2 made 3-pointers per game in his lone season with the Blue Devils.
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Despite Knueppel’s historic night, the Hornets couldn’t rally to get past the Cavaliers. Mitchell led the way with 30 points and six made 3-pointers in the win for Cleveland, which pushed them to 16-14 on the season. Darius Garland added 27 points, and De’Andre Hunter finished with 27 points off the bench.
LaMelo Ball led Charlotte with 23 points and nine assists, and Miller also had 20 points. The loss, the second straight for the Hornets, dropped them to 9-20 on the season.