The Charlotte Hornets maintained their grasp on the Eastern Conference No. 4 seed on Friday night with a critical 114-97 road win over the Indiana Pacers.

Miles Bridges led seven players in double figures with a game-high 23 points on 8-for-12 shooting with 10 rebounds, helping the Hornets overcome a second-half absence of megastar forward Gordon Hayward—who had 13 points, eight rebounds and six assists in 19 minutes.

But the bigger buzz surrounding Charlotte? It's ability to keep leads late, once acquired. The Hornets, up 84-76 after three frames, moved to an uncanny 20-0 this season when leading after three quarters.

Per Rod Boone, author of the popular “The Hive Vibes” Substack focusing on Charlotte, no other NBA team is undefeated this season when holding a lead going into the final frame.

The Pacers  twice got within six points in the fourth quarter, when T.J. McConnell answered Devonte' Graham's basket to make it 88-82 with 10:13 to go, and when Doug McDermott splashed a 3-pointer to get to 97-91 with 5:50 remaining in regulation.

Charlotte responded each time, respectively, with a 7-0 run and a 6-0 to keep control.

Among the implications for the win: it gave Charlotte a 2-1 regular-season series victory over the Pacers, which could affect postseason position should Indiana surge in the standings. Furthermore, it gave the Hornets a half-game advantage over the Miami Heat for the Southeast Division lead.

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The Hornets have won five of their last seven games, including four on the road.

Meanwhile, Hayward was officially diagnosed with a sprained right foot and will be re-evaluated through the weekend, putting his much-anticipated return to Boston this Sunday in question.