LaMelo Ball finally got his chance on Saturday night. It only came due to an injury to Terry Rozier at halftime and it came against one of the NBA’s elites. The circumstances weren’t the best.
None of that mattered, though.
Ball scored nine of his career-high 27 points in the fourth quarter at home in the second night of a back-to-back against the Bucks. His two assists in the period set up a pair of Devonte’ Graham 3-pointers that served as the daggers in a 126-114 victory.
And it all came with his typical, infectious smile as the Hornets picked up their two biggest wins of the season over the weekend.
“He was very aggressive tonight,” head coach James Borrego said. “He’s got to continue to be himself. He’s fearless. He’s aggressive. He’s attacking the paint. He’s getting to the free throw line. He’s making plays for others. He kept the pressure on Milwaukee all night and he did it with a poise without giving up a (turnover) going the other way.
“But his growth, I love his fearlessness, his ability to bounce back even when things don’t go his way on one end of the floor. He’s a special kid. He’s only getting better but I thought he handled himself and he managed the game tonight. I think he did a great job of balancing aggressiveness, poise and making the right play. A really special performance by him tonight.”
Even before Rozier turned an ankle while stepping on a player’s as Graham hoisted a halfcourt shot just before the halftime buzzer, Ball was continuing his strong play that started on Friday against the Pacers. Ball was perfect from the field in the first half, scoring nine points with six assists, two rebounds and two steals.
Rozier would be helped off the court at halftime and would not return. Ball stepped into the starting lineup in the second half and didn’t miss a beat. Despite Giannis Antetokounmpo fueling a Milwaukee comeback, Ball never slowed, matching his first-half scoring output in each the third and fourth quarter individually.
With each passing minute, the moment became bigger and bigger as the Hornets staged their own comeback after the Bucks, who trailed by 20 points, held the lead as late as the 6:25 mark of the fourth period. But as Ball scored or assisted on 13 of the last 16 points for the Hornets, it came with a laugh and a smile as his joy for the game was as evident as ever.
“That’s what makes him special,” Borrego said. “He just loves the game. He has a great joy for his team, his teammates, and playing the game, and it’s special.
“It’s infectious. The guys love playing with him. They play with more joy. I want to coach with more joy because of him and it’s a beautiful thing. He’s really ignited a real joy and passion in our program. To do that at 19 is really special.”
Trailing 111-110, Ball’s back-to-back trips to the free throw line preceded Malik Monk’s coast-to-coast layup to put the hosts up six. His and-one fastbreak layup came with a bit of showmanship as Ball flexed, both physically and figuratively, as the lead only continued to grow.
The final blows for Milwaukee came in a whirlwind of a 45-second span. First, Ball jumped the passing lane to come away with a steal before finding Graham spotting up on the wing for three. Graham buried the Bucks by burying a three from the other wing off another Ball pass, capping off a 15-3 run.
“He just knows the game,” Miles Bridges said of Ball. “Any slippage, he’ll find it in a defense. You know I love playing with him. He throws it up all the time and hits me on cuts. And it’s infectious because you see in our last few games, we’ve been getting a lot of assists. Even in our losses, we were passing the ball good. We just want to continue to keep that going and he’s doing a great job.
“I always got big respect for Melo just because, with the rookies this year, they just threw them in the fire,” he continued. “He just makes everybody around him better. That’s what he did a great job of doing in the fourth. He got stops. He made the right play. He got (Devonte’) two shots in the clutch. He’s doing a great job.”
Ball’s impact on the night could be summed up in his plus-minus of +37 in a season-high 31 minutes. Considering the final margin was a 12-point win, that figure also means the Hornets were -25 in the 17 minutes he wasn’t on the court.
With Rozier’s status up in the air moving forward, Saturday could mark the start of a run of Ball as a starter. Whether it’s as a starter or off the bench, Ball’s impact will continue both in terms of raw stats or the attitude of the team.
“We have great chemistry,” Ball said. “Every time we get on the court, we show the off-court chemistry that we have on the court. And that’s great for the team. It’s just everybody around the team, they love each other. We love being around each other. There’s no cliques or anything. Just everybody on the team just has fun with each other.”
On Saturday, both were enough to get Charlotte a season-defining win as a team and a season-defining performance for Ball.