Despite Brandon Miller's hot play in recent weeks, he has continued to be underestimated by pundits at times. However, his personal 12-0 run during a 1:42 stretch in the Charlotte Hornets' Saturday bout with the San Antonio Spurs should put the league on notice.
With 2:47 left in the first half of the game, the Hornets were up 47-45. Miller then decided to take over. After hitting a pair of free throws, he rattled off three consecutive 3-pointers, the second one of which was part of a four-point play, courtesy of a Victor Wembanyama foul.
By the 1:05 mark in the second quarter, Charlotte's lead had ballooned up to 59-45. Dylan Harper and Moussa Diabate then traded buckets inside the paint to end the half.
Brandon Miller has become an underrated star
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It has been tough to rate Miller relative to his peers in the NBA. While he has displayed top-tier offensive skills, he has often been sidelined by injuries. His efficiency had also been negatively impacted by the lingering effects of his [injuries earlier in the season](https://swarmandsting.com/hornets-hit-gut-punch-potentially-brutal-brandon-miller-news).
Still, The Ringer [putting him at the No. 82](https://nbarankings.theringer.com/) spot in its latest player rankings might be unjustifiable. Sure, Miller's efficiency, particularly inside the paint, could use some work, but saying that he is currently worse than 81 players is questionable.
His quick offensive burst against his more highly heralded draft classmate, Wembanyama, and the second-seeded team in the West shows how capable he is of becoming as potent a scorer as anyone else in the league.
In addition, Miller already reached the 20-point mark when he opened the third period with a driving hook. That means he has extended his streak of scoring at least 20 to 10 contests. As long as he stays healthy, we can expect the third-year swingman to continue lighting it up from the field, especially when LaMelo Ball keeps looking for him and with Kon Knueppel's gravity providing him space on offense.
Fortunately, Charlotte was able to eke out the win. It had to withstand a furious rally from the Spurs in crunch time, though, as its offense went cold in the final two quarters. The team has Miller to thank for giving it a double-digit cushion to start the second half. It was fitting that he was the last player to score in the game, sinking both of his attempts from the charity stripe to ice the suddenly surging Hornets' 111-106 victory.