Hornets forward Brandon Miller weighs in on Rookie of the Year award race

The Charlotte Hornets returned to action Tuesday night, facing the Dallas Mavericks in search of their fifth consecutive victory.

Entering the matchup, Charlotte was without Coby White who was ruled out due to injury management.

That said, the Mavericks had it much worse, playing without Cooper Flagg, Klay Thompson and Naji Marshall.

In the first quarter, the Hornets got out to a lead that they wouldn't relinquish. Charlotte outscored Dallas in every quarter, including the third quarter, outscoring the Mavericks 35-24 in that frame.

Charlotte led for 95% percent of the matchup, dominating from beyond the arc.

The Hornets shot 39% from long range and made 20 three-pointers, while Dallas shot 14% from deep and made only three.

Charlotte's leading scorer on the night, Brandon Miller made two of them, finishing with 17 points, five rebounds, four assists and two blocks.

Following the game, Miller addressed the Rookie of the Year award race after his teammate Kon Knueppel was named Rookie of the Month for February, his fourth consecutive month earning the honor.

"I've been saying it since Day One. He's stamped the Rookie of the Year talks. So I'm going to leave that up."

Knueppel's biggest competition for the award is one of his former Duke teammates, Cooper Flagg. 

However, Flagg has missed the last eight games due to injury while Knueppel continues to build on durability and consistency, breaking the rookie record for three-pointers made while missing just one game so far this season.

While the season is far from over, Knueppel has once again positioned himself as the favorite for the award.

Knueppel, Miller and the Hornets will travel to Boston Wednesday to face the Celtics on the second night of a back-to-back.

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