Dead in the water and closer to waving the white flag than a comeback, the Hornets seemed completely out of contention on Friday at home against Utah. Gordon Hayward and LaMelo Ball accounted for just shy of half of Charlotte’s offense through three quarters as one of the league’s best offense in the Jazz had dwarfed the hosts.
What transpired in the fourth quarter will likely be remembered as Ball’s first big moment in the NBA. With complete freedom given the circumstances, Ball attacked the heart of the Jazz defense over and over. Soon, the 25-point margin was trimmed all the way to single digits.
In the end, the Ball-inspired comeback in which he scored 15 points in the fourth was for naught as Utah held off the charging Hornets with timely 3-pointers late, winning 138-121. But Ball’s first signature moment in the NBA left an impression on his coaches and teammates.
“I thought he was great tonight,” head coach James Borrego said. “He continued to play the right way, he gave us a shot back in this game and played with great poise and confidence there in the second half especially. So, I loved his spirit tonight.”
Ball scored or assisted on 24 of the first 27 points in the fourth quarter for the Hornets. He scored nine straight points midway through the quarter before setting up Bismack Biyombo for a dunk and Terry Rozier for a 3-pointer.
On the next two possessions, Ball drove to the rim, finishing the first on a backtracking Rudy Gobert with five fouls and the second through a Royce O’Neale foul for an and-one. It was the most aggressive Ball has looked all season at seeking his own shot this season, something he told his teammate he would do coming into the contest.
“I told the teammates I was going to be a little more aggressive tonight looking for my shot and stuff like that,” Ball said. “So pretty much whenever I just saw daylight, pretty much just taking what the defense was giving me.
“Like I say, whenever I step on the court, I feel good. I feel like I can go off whenever. So yeah, pretty much we were just running high on-ball (screens) and just making space for me so I was just making stuff happen.”
Ball’s teammates eventually helped carry the load after his string of baskets and when Rozier came away with a steal and layup with 2:22 remaining to cut the lead to 128-119, it felt like the Hornets had a chance.
But a string of empty possessions for Charlotte paired with a couple of dagger 3-pointers for Utah sealed the win as they scored 10 of the final 12 points in the game.
“Credit to them, they’re a phenomenal team – they move the ball well, get open shots, and they knocked them down,” Gordon Hayward said of Utah. “There were some tough ones there that they hit, especially at the end of the first quarter to kind of bring them closer because I thought we did start so well. We went through a dry spell on offense and couldn’t throw it in and that definitely hurt.”
Hayward and Ball finished with 59 of Charlotte’s 121 points on the night, just shy of 50% of the scoring. With Devonte’ Graham leaving in the second quarter with a groin strain and not returning and Rozier returning for the first time in two games, it was Ball and Hayward who were forced to pick up the load.
Ball finished with 34 points, the first 30-point game of his career. It came on 14-of-27 shooting, far surpassing his previous season-high in field goal attempts at 16. He added eight assists and zero turnovers, drawing Borrego’s praise after the game.
For Hayward, his 25 points are the expectation that comes along with the contract he received in the offseason. For Ball, Friday was another big step forward in a rookie season quickly filling up with milestones.
“I mean, he played really well tonight,” Hayward said. “He plays with great pace. I have said it before, he has a great feel for the game already. I think the more he’s able to be in NBA games and getting the experience, the better for him. We need him. I thought he played tremendously well tonight.”