Pressure on young core: The Hornets are a young team that likes to play an up-and-down, exciting brand of basketball heralded by their young core: LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller and rookie Kon Knueppel. The Warriors should look to up the pressure on these guys and force others to be a factor in the game.

Hornets rookie Kon Knueppel returned from a one-game absence on Wednesday, and picked up right where he left off before sustaining an ankle injury.

Winners of four of their last five, the Golden State Warriors are one of the most in-form teams around the NBA. Bad news for the Charlotte Hornets, who come off

The Golden State Warriors faced the Charlotte Hornets in the final game of 2025. Here are the highlights, score and results:

The Golden State Warriors needed all their energy to escape Charlotte with a hard-fought win over the Hornets on New Year's Eve.

LaMelo Ball, an early heir apparent to Curry as a flashy guard with a deadly shot, is taking 9.0 3-pointers a game. Nineteen-year-old teammate Kon Knueppel stands at 6-foot-6 and 215 pounds, and perhaps in an earlier era, would have been asked to fire mid-post fadeaways over his right shoulder.

The victory over the Hornets was the 1,176th of Doc Rivers' coaching career, moving him past former Bucks coach and Hall of Famer George Karl for sixth all-time. Rivers is 79-72 with the Bucks after coaching Orlando (171 wins), Boston (416), the Los Angeles Clippers (356) and Philadelphia (154).

Smiling and leaning against the wall just outside the Charlotte Hornets locker room, Kon Knueppel was as ready as anyone to hit the court, just five days after going down with a sprained right ankle. Indeed, the Hornets had their rookie sensation back.

The Charlotte Hornets may be without multiple key players in Wednesday afternoon's game against the Golden State Warriors.