Hornets win fourth straight, Coby White scores 20 in home debut with 109-93 victory over Trail Blazers

Coby White made his home debut for the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday, the second game for his new team after being acquired from the Chicago Bulls at the NBA trade deadline. 

Facing the Portland Trail Blazers before a home crowd at the Spectrum Center that included his former college coach Roy Williams, White came off the bench and scored 20 points in Charlotte's 109-93 win. He entered the game with 4:58 remaining in the first quarter, subbing in for LaMelo Ball. 

Prior to making his Hornets debut on Tuesday (against his former team), White was sidelined for three weeks with a calf injury. Charlotte knew about the injury after trading for him and decided to hold him out until after the NBA All-Star break.

White played 16 and 17 minutes, respectively, in his first two games with Charlotte as head coach Charles Lee worked him into the lineup. Against the Trail Blazers, he continued to gradually increase his playing time, going up to 21 minutes. 

By the time White entered Saturday's game, the Hornets were already ahead 20-10 with Brandon Miller scoring 7 points. He hit his first shot of the game, a 3-pointer, that helped Charlotte end the first quarter with a 29-17 lead. 

Miller finished with 26 points (shooting 6-of-12 on 3s) and 8 rebounds to lead all scorers. Ball added 15 points with 8 assists, while Miles Bridges tallied 14 points, 8 boards, 5 assists and 3 steals. Altogether, six Hornets scored in double figures. 

Charlotte has now won four straight games — and 16 of its past 20 — to improve to 30-31. The Hornets currently hold the 10th spot in the Eastern Conference standings, which would put them in the NBA play-in tournament, but they are only three games behind the Orlando Magic for the No. 7 seed. 

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Lee and his players have noticed the growing support for the team during its turnaround.

“I feel their excitement, I feel their support,” the Hornets coach told the Charlotte Observer's Rod Moore. “Our team feels it. The arena has a different buzz to it. I think that it’s always been really supportive of us, but I can feel it from tip off during the starting lineups now."

"And so we appreciate it," he added. "We want more of it and we’ve got to make sure that we give them something to be able to come out, and support, and cheer for it and be proud of.”

The Hornets are off until Tuesday, when they host the Dallas Mavericks for the first end of back-to-back games. On Wednesday, they'll face the Boston Celtics at TD Garden in what could be a playoff preview. 

Coby White, Roy Williams have UNC reunion

White played for Roy Williams at North Carolina for the 2018-19 season and said he talked to his former college coach on Friday before meeting with him during pregame warm-ups. Williams took in Saturday's matinee in Charlotte before heading to Chapel Hill for the Tar Heels' home game versus Virginia Tech.

"He didn’t tell me that he was going to be courtside, though," White told reporters. "He said he didn’t know either. He’s been checking in on me every step of the way."

"Obviously, a legendary coach, but I’ve been gone six, seven years," he added. "For him to still reach out, like I always say, our relationship is bigger than basketball. He’s helped me through a lot of tough times in my life and he continues to help me.”