On Wednesday night, Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball scored 28 points, was credited with 10 assists and grabbed a season-high 12 rebounds as the Hornets defeated San Antonio 120-110 to send the Spurs into the NBA All-Star break with a 14-game losing streak.
During his NBA career, Ball became the second-youngest player to reach 1,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, and 1,000 assists.
“He is an ultra-talented player for sure,” Hornets forward Gordon Hayward said. “Great vision for sure and he’s all over the court. (With rebounding) he has an special ability to be in the right place at the right time. … He’s obviously a great player already and I think he will continue to grow into an even better one.”
Upon hearing about the achievement, Ball immediately recognized that LeBron James was the only player younger than him who had achieved the same.
“I don’t like to trip to up with that stuff,” Ball said of being on the same list as James. “I just go out and try to get win after win.”
Ball recorded his third triple-double of the season and ninth in his career. Charlotte won its second straight game thanks to PJ Washington’s 22 points and 10 rebounds and rookie Mark Williams’ 12 points, 10 rebounds, and four blocked shots.
NBA SCORES & NEWS: LaMelo Ball, Charlotte Hornets & San Antonio Spurs Updates
Nick Richards, the backup center, recorded five of the Hornets’ 12 blocks. With Williams and Richards, the Hornets seem to have two young, capable shot blockers.
“What they both do is make exceptional plays because of their size and athleticism,” Hornets coach Steve Clifford said. “What they need to do now on top of that is less mistakes and not giving possessions away. If they do that we will be in good shape and they will be too.”
Having lost their last three road games after beating Houston on Dec. 19, the Spurs were led by Malaki Branham’s 23 points and Keldon Johnson’s 21 points. On five three-pointers, Doug McDermott added 17 points.
A halftime lead of 60-57 was held by the Hornets, led by Ball, who nearly had a triple-double with 10 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists while having extra time played with Terry Rozier out because of knee soreness.
NBA SCORES & NEWS: LaMelo Ball, Charlotte Hornets & San Antonio Spurs Updates
With back-to-back 3-pointers and a short jumper, McDermott led the Spurs back to cut Charlotte’s lead to one in the fourth quarter. With five minutes remaining, newly acquired guard Svi Mykhailiuk helped push the Hornets’ lead back to six by burying a shot from the corner. The victory was sealed with 59 seconds left by Washington’s offensive rebound and resounding dunk after Ball made his fifth 3-pointer of the game.
“At some point, you have to take pride in what you’re doing execution wise and competitively,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “That starts with defense and we really sucked. That’s on me when I think we’re starting to improve on it, and we go back two steps, so that’s something I’m going to have to think about, figure out how I’m going to be able to motivate them better.”
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