New Orleans Pelicans vs Charlotte Hornets Match Player Stats

The new orleans pelicans vs charlotte hornets match player stats from the July 12, 2026 NBA Summer League game tell a much more interesting story than the final score alone. New Orleans overcame a strong early challenge from Charlotte to win 95-91 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. The Pelicans finished with a 2-3 Summer League record, while the Hornets moved to 1-4.

The game was defined by contrasting styles. Charlotte controlled the glass, generated 17 offensive rebounds, and blocked 10 shots. New Orleans, however, protected the basketball far better, forced turnovers, and produced 13 steals. The Pelicans also finished the game strongly, scoring 30 points in the fourth quarter while limiting Charlotte to only 15.

Hunter Dickinson led New Orleans with 21 points, while Kobe Bufkin delivered one of the most complete performances of the night with 19 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals. For Charlotte, Liam McNeeley led all Hornets scorers with 17 points, while Tidjane Salaun and Christian Anderson each contributed 12.

This breakdown examines the player production, team statistics, quarter-by-quarter momentum, and the specific statistical factors that decided the game.

New Orleans Pelicans vs Charlotte Hornets Match Player Stats at a Glance

The July 12 contest was a classic example of how different statistical strengths can produce a close game.

Category	New Orleans Pelicans	Charlotte Hornets
Final Score	95	91
Field Goals	34-79	30-65
Field Goal Percentage	43%	46%
Three-Pointers	9-29	11-32
Three-Point Percentage	31%	34%
Free Throws	11-14	13-23
Free Throw Percentage	79%	57%
Rebounds	30	49
Assists	20	22
Turnovers	7	22
Steals	13	3
Blocks	4	10
Offensive Rebounds	7	17
Defensive Rebounds	23	32
Fouls	27	22

At first glance, Charlotte appears to have controlled several important areas. The Hornets shot a better percentage from the field, made more three-pointers, collected 19 more rebounds, and recorded six more blocks.

Yet New Orleans won by four points.

The biggest explanation is turnover differential. The Pelicans committed only seven turnovers compared with Charlotte’s 22. That 15-turnover advantage gave New Orleans substantially more opportunities to generate offense without needing to win the rebounding battle.

Hunter Dickinson Leads the Pelicans With 21 Points

Hunter Dickinson was New Orleans’ leading scorer, finishing with 21 points.

His scoring total gave the Pelicans an important interior and half-court scoring presence in a game where Charlotte’s defense created considerable disruption around the rim.

Dickinson’s 21 points were particularly important because New Orleans did not shoot efficiently from three-point range. The Pelicans converted only 9 of 29 attempts from beyond the arc, or 31%.

When an offense is not consistently hitting outside shots, efficient scoring from closer to the basket becomes even more valuable. Dickinson’s production helped prevent Charlotte’s strong defensive rebounding and shot-blocking numbers from completely taking over the game.

The larger lesson from the performance is that scoring totals should be considered alongside team context. A 21-point performance becomes more significant when it comes in a game where the opposing team records 10 blocks and wins the overall rebounding battle by a wide margin.

Kobe Bufkin Produces an All-Around Performance

Kobe Bufkin was arguably the most statistically versatile Pelicans player in the game.

He finished with:

• 19 points
• 6 rebounds
• 5 assists
• 4 steals

Bufkin led New Orleans in rebounds, assists, and steals while ranking second on the team in scoring.

That combination is important because the Pelicans did not win through one-dimensional scoring. Their victory was supported by ball movement, defensive activity, and turnover creation.

The four steals were especially significant. Charlotte committed 22 turnovers overall, and New Orleans recorded 13 steals as a team. Bufkin’s four takeaways represented a major part of that defensive pressure.

His five assists also helped the Pelicans generate offense without relying entirely on isolation scoring.

For player evaluation purposes, this is the type of box-score performance that deserves attention beyond the points column. Bufkin contributed across several statistical categories and helped New Orleans compensate for disadvantages elsewhere.

Jalon Moore Adds 13 Points for New Orleans

Jalon Moore was the Pelicans’ third-leading scorer with 13 points.

While his scoring total was below Dickinson and Bufkin, his contribution helped give New Orleans another reliable scoring option.

The importance of a third scorer becomes more apparent in a close Summer League game. Opposing defenses can concentrate heavily on the leading scorer when an offense lacks secondary production. New Orleans avoided that problem by getting meaningful contributions from multiple players.

The Pelicans ultimately scored 95 points despite shooting only 31% from three-point range. That indicates that their offense was supported by more than perimeter shooting.

Liam McNeeley Leads Charlotte With 17 Points

Liam McNeeley was the Hornets’ leading scorer with 17 points.

Charlotte did not have a player reach 20 points, but McNeeley’s production helped keep the team ahead for much of the contest.

The Hornets opened the game with a 33-point first quarter, establishing an early advantage. Their scoring declined as the game progressed, however, and the fourth quarter proved decisive.

McNeeley’s 17 points were therefore part of a broader story about Charlotte’s offensive consistency. The Hornets showed they could generate points early, but maintaining that production against New Orleans’ defensive pressure became increasingly difficult.

Tidjane Salaun and Christian Anderson Each Score 12

Tidjane Salaun and Christian Anderson each finished with 12 points for Charlotte.

Salaun also tied for the team lead in rebounds with nine. That made his contribution particularly valuable because Charlotte dominated the rebounding battle.

Michael Ajayi also collected nine rebounds, matching Salaun for the Hornets‘ team lead.

Salaun’s combination of 12 points and nine rebounds illustrates the broader statistical profile of Charlotte’s performance. The Hornets were not losing because they lacked physical presence. In fact, they were extremely effective on the glass.

Their problem was converting those advantages into enough efficient possessions while protecting the basketball.

Michael Ajayi Provides Playmaking and Rebounding

Michael Ajayi was another important contributor for Charlotte.

He recorded nine rebounds and seven assists, leading the Hornets in assists. That seven-assist figure is particularly notable because it was more than the assist total of any Pelicans player.

Ajayi therefore contributed in two areas where Charlotte performed well overall: rebounding and playmaking.

His seven assists helped Charlotte maintain offensive structure, while his nine rebounds reinforced the team’s control of the boards.

However, individual playmaking could not fully offset the team’s 22 turnovers.

Ryan Kalkbrenner Protects the Rim

Ryan Kalkbrenner led the Hornets with four blocks.

Charlotte finished with 10 blocks as a team, more than twice New Orleans’ total of four.

That figure shows how difficult the Hornets made several attempts around the basket. Their length and interior defense disrupted New Orleans’ finishing opportunities and helped explain why Charlotte managed to shoot 46% from the field despite eventually losing the game.

The 10-block total also reinforces why the final score should not be interpreted as evidence that New Orleans controlled every part of the game.

Charlotte clearly controlled the paint defensively at several points.

Quarter-by-Quarter Breakdown

The quarter scores provide one of the clearest explanations for the final result.

Quarter	Pelicans	Hornets
First	22	33
Second	23	23
Third	20	20
Fourth	30	15
Total	95	91

First Quarter: Charlotte Takes Control

Charlotte came out aggressively and scored 33 points in the opening period.

New Orleans managed 22.

The 11-point difference immediately placed the Pelicans in recovery mode.

Charlotte’s strong start also demonstrated the Hornets’ ability to create offense efficiently. Their eventual 46% field-goal percentage was the better shooting mark of the two teams.

However, the first quarter advantage did not become a decisive lead because New Orleans gradually stabilized the game.

Second Quarter: New Orleans Responds

Both teams scored 23 points in the second quarter.

That meant Charlotte retained its 11-point advantage entering halftime.

The significance of the period was less about the raw score and more about the Pelicans stopping the early damage from becoming worse.

A team that loses the opening quarter by 11 points but matches its opponent in the second quarter remains within striking distance.

Third Quarter: Defensive Balance

The third quarter ended 20-20.

Neither team gained ground.

This produced a situation in which Charlotte still held an 11-point advantage entering the final quarter.

At that point, New Orleans needed a significant fourth-quarter shift to complete the comeback.

Fourth Quarter: Pelicans Complete the Comeback

The decisive period belonged to New Orleans.

The Pelicans scored 30 points while Charlotte managed only 15.

That 15-point swing transformed an 11-point deficit into a four-point victory.

This was the most important stretch of the game.

It also illustrates why fourth-quarter performance can be more meaningful than a simple full-game shooting comparison. Charlotte had the superior field-goal percentage and significantly more rebounds, but New Orleans produced its best scoring period when the game was on the line.

The Turnover Battle Decided the Game

The most striking team statistic was the turnover difference.

New Orleans committed only seven turnovers.

Charlotte committed 22.

That is a difference of 15 possessions.

Even without calculating every resulting scoring opportunity, the discrepancy is enormous. Every turnover represents a possession that ends without a normal shot attempt or successful continuation of the offensive sequence.

New Orleans also recorded 13 steals, compared with only three for Charlotte.

That combination suggests that the Pelicans were not simply benefiting from unforced mistakes. They were actively creating defensive pressure.

This was likely the most important statistical reason New Orleans could overcome Charlotte’s advantages in rebounding and field-goal percentage.

Charlotte Dominates the Rebounding Battle

Charlotte grabbed 49 rebounds compared with 30 for New Orleans.

The Hornets also collected 17 offensive rebounds.

That is a major number.

Offensive rebounds extend possessions and create additional scoring opportunities. A team that repeatedly retrieves its own missed shots can maintain pressure even when its initial attempts do not fall.

Charlotte’s 32 defensive rebounds also helped limit New Orleans’ second chances.

From a traditional box-score perspective, rebounding was clearly one of Charlotte’s strongest areas.

Yet the Hornets still lost.

This is an important reminder that no single box-score category determines a basketball game by itself.

The Pelicans Protected the Ball Better

New Orleans’ seven turnovers were one of the cleanest indicators of offensive discipline in the game.

Charlotte’s 22 turnovers represented a major loss of possession value.

The contrast becomes even more interesting when combined with the assist totals.

New Orleans recorded 20 assists and seven turnovers.

Charlotte recorded 22 assists and 22 turnovers.

The Hornets generated a similar number of assists but gave the ball away more than three times as often as New Orleans.

That ratio tells an important story about offensive efficiency.

The Pelicans were not necessarily producing more passes or more assists. They were simply doing a better job of preserving possessions.

Shooting Efficiency Favored Charlotte

Charlotte finished 30 of 65 from the field, which was approximately 46%.

New Orleans shot 34 of 79, or approximately 43%.

The Hornets also had a slightly better three-point percentage:

• Charlotte: 11 of 32, 34%
• New Orleans: 9 of 29, 31%

So shooting percentage alone would not explain the Pelicans’ victory.

Charlotte’s superior field-goal percentage actually makes the win more interesting.

New Orleans had to overcome that disadvantage through possession management, defensive pressure, and its fourth-quarter scoring surge.

Free Throws Give New Orleans Another Advantage

The free-throw numbers provide another important contrast.

New Orleans converted 11 of 14 attempts, or 79%.

Charlotte went 13 of 23, or 57%.

Although Charlotte attempted nine more free throws, its lower conversion rate reduced the value of those additional opportunities.

New Orleans therefore extracted considerably more value from its smaller number of free-throw attempts.

In a four-point game, efficiency at the free-throw line can matter significantly.

Charlotte’s Shot Blocking Was Excellent

Charlotte recorded 10 blocks.

New Orleans recorded four.

The difference of six blocks demonstrates how aggressively the Hornets protected the basket.

Ryan Kalkbrenner accounted for four of Charlotte’s blocks himself.

The Hornets’ shot blocking also helps explain why New Orleans attempted 79 field goals but made only 34.

However, there is an important distinction between preventing shots from going in and preventing opponents from creating efficient possessions.

Charlotte blocked many shots, but the team also committed 22 turnovers.

New Orleans was therefore able to generate enough additional possession opportunities to offset some of Charlotte’s defensive success.

Steals Tell a Different Defensive Story

The defensive statistics were almost a mirror image.

Charlotte had:

• 3 steals
• 10 blocks

New Orleans had:

• 13 steals
• 4 blocks

Charlotte’s defense was more dominant around the rim.

New Orleans’ defense was more disruptive in passing lanes and ball security situations.

That difference in defensive style had a direct connection to the turnover totals.

The Pelicans’ 13 steals were especially valuable because Charlotte’s 22 turnovers became one of the central reasons the game swung toward New Orleans late.

Why the Final Four-Point Margin Is Misleading

A four-point final score can make the game look evenly balanced from beginning to end.

It was not.

Charlotte led by 11 points after the opening quarter and remained ahead by 11 entering the fourth.

Then New Orleans outscored Charlotte 30-15 in the final period.

The final margin therefore hides a dramatic change in momentum.

The game can be divided into two distinct phases:

1. Charlotte controlled the early and middle stages.
2. New Orleans controlled the decisive final period.

This is why the full-game box score should always be read alongside quarter-by-quarter scoring.

What the Team Statistics Reveal

The combined statistics reveal a fascinating contrast.

Charlotte’s strengths

Charlotte was better in several conventional categories:

• Field-goal percentage
• Three-point percentage
• Total rebounds
• Offensive rebounds
• Defensive rebounds
• Assists
• Blocks

New Orleans’ strengths

New Orleans was better in several possession-related areas:

• Turnovers
• Steals
• Free-throw percentage
• Fourth-quarter scoring
• Overall final score

The result demonstrates that basketball games are determined by the interaction of statistics rather than one isolated category.

A team can lose the rebounding battle by 19 and still win if it creates enough extra possessions through defensive pressure and protects the ball.

A Closer Look at Possession Value

One of the best ways to understand this game is to think about possession quality.

Charlotte frequently earned additional possessions through offensive rebounds. The Hornets collected 17 offensive boards.

New Orleans created extra opportunities in a different way by forcing turnovers.

The Pelicans recorded 13 steals while committing only seven turnovers themselves.

That combination effectively changed the possession battle.

Charlotte’s rebounding advantage created second chances.

New Orleans’ defensive activity created transition opportunities and prevented Charlotte from completing offensive possessions.

This contrast is more useful than simply saying one team “played better.” It identifies the specific mechanisms that shaped the result.

What the Player Stats Suggest About Team Roles

The individual numbers also reveal different roles.

Kobe Bufkin

Bufkin’s 19 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals indicate a broad role involving scoring, creation, rebounding, and perimeter defense.

Hunter Dickinson

Dickinson’s 21 points made him the primary scoring option for New Orleans.

Jalon Moore

Moore’s 13 points provided another layer of scoring support.

Liam McNeeley

McNeeley led Charlotte with 17 points and helped establish the team’s offensive presence.

Tidjane Salaun

Salaun combined 12 points with nine rebounds, showing two-way statistical involvement.

Michael Ajayi

Ajayi’s nine rebounds and seven assists made him one of Charlotte’s most versatile contributors.

Ryan Kalkbrenner

Kalkbrenner’s four blocks highlighted his defensive impact around the basket.

These numbers show why player statistics should be interpreted by role rather than points alone.

What This Game Says About Summer League Basketball

Summer League games are often used to evaluate young players, prospects, roster candidates, and developing skills.

That makes the box score useful, but not sufficient.

A player can post a high scoring total without demonstrating strong decision-making. Another player can have a lower scoring total while contributing through defense, rebounding, passing, and possession management.

Bufkin’s performance is a good example.

His 19 points were important, but his five assists and four steals provide additional information about how he influenced the game.

Ajayi’s seven assists and nine rebounds tell a similar story for Charlotte.

The most useful analysis therefore looks beyond the scoring leaders.

How to Read These Player Stats Correctly

If you are researching the game for player evaluation, fantasy analysis, team coverage, or historical reference, use the following process.

Start With the scoring leaders

Identify who generated the most points, but do not stop there.

For this game, Dickinson led New Orleans with 21, while McNeeley led Charlotte with 17.

Check secondary production

Look at rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks.

Bufkin’s 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals significantly expand the meaning of his 19-point performance.

Examine shooting efficiency

Compare field-goal, three-point, and free-throw percentages.

Charlotte shot 46% from the field compared with New Orleans’ 43%.

Review turnovers

This was essential in this matchup.

The Pelicans had seven turnovers, while the Hornets had 22.

Examine the quarter splits

A final score does not always reveal momentum.

The fourth-quarter 30-15 advantage for New Orleans was the key development.

Authoritative Statistical Reference

For readers who want to cross-check official NBA information, the NBA official website is an appropriate primary reference for league and game information.

The supplied game data identifies this contest as Game ID 401881836, played on July 12, 2026, during the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who was the leading scorer for the Pelicans?

Hunter Dickinson led New Orleans with 21 points.

Who led the Hornets in scoring?

Liam McNeeley was Charlotte’s leading scorer with 17 points.

What was the final score?

The New Orleans Pelicans defeated the Charlotte Hornets 95-91.

Who had the most rebounds for the Pelicans?

Kobe Bufkin led New Orleans with six rebounds.

Who led Charlotte in rebounds?

Tidjane Salaun and Michael Ajayi each recorded nine rebounds.

Which team had more turnovers?

Charlotte had 22 turnovers, compared with seven for New Orleans.

Conclusion

The new orleans pelicans vs charlotte hornets match player stats show how a team can overcome major disadvantages in rebounding, field-goal percentage, and shot blocking through possession control and defensive pressure.

Hunter Dickinson led the Pelicans with 21 points, while Kobe Bufkin delivered a complete statistical performance with 19 points, six rebounds, five assists, and four steals. Jalon Moore added 13 points.

For Charlotte, Liam McNeeley led the scoring with 17 points. Tidjane Salaun and Christian Anderson each scored 12, while Salaun and Michael Ajayi collected nine rebounds apiece. Ajayi also produced seven assists, and Ryan Kalkbrenner led the team with four blocks.

The defining difference was possession management. New Orleans committed only seven turnovers while forcing Charlotte into 22. The Pelicans also recorded 13 steals, helping create the extra opportunities needed to overcome Charlotte’s 49-30 rebounding advantage.

The quarter-by-quarter numbers tell the final part of the story. Charlotte opened with a 33-22 advantage, but New Orleans eventually erased the deficit by producing a 30-15 fourth quarter.

For anyone studying the new orleans pelicans vs charlotte hornets match player stats, the main lesson is clear: the final box score becomes far more useful when scoring, efficiency, turnovers, rebounding, defensive activity, and quarter-level momentum are considered together.