Playing without Kon Knueppel and Coby White, the Charlotte Hornets beat the Brooklyn Nets 110-103 on Wednesday behind Naz Reid, Grayson Allen and Dennis Schroder. The win showed Charlotte can lean on its depth and its rebounding while two key guards heal.

Wednesday night in Brooklyn marked the start of the Hornets’ season. With the result, Charlotte has now won six straight season openers, Sports Illustrated noted.

Knueppel sat with a left hamstring strain. White was out with a left calf strain he suffered on Oct. 5 during training camp. He missed the rest of the preseason. Charlotte also listed Grant Williams as out with a right hamstring strain.

Losing Knueppel takes away a major scoring option. He averaged 18.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists over 81 games in 2025-26. He shot 42.5% from 3-point range, made the All-Rookie First Team and finished second in Rookie of the Year voting.

Reid filled much of the gap. Charlotte acquired him in June, trading LaMelo Ball and Josh Green to Minnesota for Reid, a first-round pick, three first-round pick swaps and three second-round picks. The former Kia Sixth Man of the Year averaged 13.6 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists for Minnesota in 2025-26. Brandon Miller added 18 points for Charlotte. Moussa Diabate had 17.

Schroder outscored Brooklyn by himself down the stretch

Charlotte won three of the four quarters. It led 27-23 after the first and took the second 27-25. Brooklyn won the third 33-32, and the Hornets closed with a 24-22 fourth.

The Nets stayed close late. Michael Porter Jr. hit a floater that cut the deficit to 94-90 with 7:20 remaining. Schroder, playing his first game for his 12th NBA team, then outscored the Nets 8-2 on his own.

Brooklyn had one more chance. Randle’s three-point play with 1:16 left gave the Nets an opening to pull within one possession. An Egor Demin turnover followed, and Allen buried a 3-pointer to end it.

Randle added eight rebounds and seven assists to his scoring. Brooklyn rookie Mikel Brown Jr., the sixth overall pick, made his NBA debut as a reserve. He logged 20 minutes, scoring six points and handing out three assists.

Charlotte won the glass despite cold 3-point shooting

The Hornets did not win with shooting. They made only 15 of 48 3-pointers. Brooklyn went 12 of 31 from deep.

Charlotte made up the difference on the boards. The Hornets outrebounded Brooklyn 59-47 and took 93 shots to the Nets’ 80. Those extra attempts gave a short-handed team enough chances to survive a poor night from long range.

That formula could matter while Knueppel and White recover. With Reid and Diabate inside and Allen and Schroder producing, Charlotte has shown it can create volume even when its perimeter shooting fails.

The result leaves Charlotte at 1-0, fifth in the Eastern Conference and third in the Southeast Division. Brooklyn sits at 0-1, 11th in the East and fourth in the Atlantic Division.

The Hornets return home to face the Atlanta Hawks on Friday, Oct. 23. The Nets visit the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday, Oct. 24.