Shorthanded Hornets Fall 124-118 to Mavericks Despite LaMelo Ball's Huge Evening
Just 24 hours after a last-minute win in Indiana, the Charlotte Hornets came up short against the star power of Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday.
After suffering a groin injury against the Pacers on Saturday, Terry Rozier was absent from the lineup for the first time this season. That would prove to be the difference for the Hornets and their offense.
The Mavericks had some extra motivation going into this one, as their two late-season losses to Charlotte last year played a big part in them missing out on the playoffs. The Hornets led by as much as 15 points in the first half, looking as if they would repeat their consecutive defeats of the Mavs from last season.
But as the second half got underway, Dallas would begin to wear Charlotte down and slowly trim into the lead. Tim Hardaway Jr.'s left-corner three pointer with nine minutes remaining in the fourth quarter gave Dallas their first lead since the opening moments of the contest.
After a slow start to the season by his standards, LaMelo Ball had his best outing of the season thus far with 30 points, and nearly single-handedly kept the Hornets in the game down the stretch.
Gordon Hayward and P.J. Washington poured in an additional 20 points each in this one. But it was ultimately not enough as the Hornets fell, 124-118.
Best of the night: Along with his season-high 30 points, Ball also notched 13 assists and 10 rebounds to give him his tenth career triple double. He scored 23 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter, knocking down clutch shot after clutch shot to give Charlotte a chance.
Worst of the night: Brandon Miller had a rough night with just seven points on 3-for-12 shooting, going 0-for-5 from three. In the final minute of the game down three points, Miller made a rookie mistake by committing a five-second violation while attempting to inbound the ball.
Stat of the night: LaMelo Ball became the second Charlotte Hornet ever to have a 30-point triple double, after Anthony Mason in the 1999-2000 NBA season. Ball's triple double is the first in Hornets history to be recorded in a regulation (non-overtime) game.
Highlight of the night:
Hornets announcer Eric Collins was absolutely thrilled to see Nick Richards show off his skill late in the second quarter, when he brought the ball down the floor on a fast break. Euro-stepping past Tim Hardaway Jr., Richards made it look easy scoring this smooth layup.
