The rumors certainly were apparent to Lonzo Ball, even if he didn’t admit it. On Tuesday, Ball was the subject of a report from The Athletic’s Shams Charania noting the Pelicans had received calls about his availability via trade.
On Wednesday, he did his best to stymy those rumors with a standout first half before leaving at halftime with an ankle injury. On Thursday, David Griffin himself, the Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations, all but confirmed he had spoken to Ball about the rumors.
On Friday, Ball’s response was loud and clear.
The Pelicans picked up their defining win of the season to-date and one that will likely carry to the end of the season, dominating the Milwaukee Bucks for the vast majority of the contest before holding off a fourth-quarter rally. Leading the charge? None other than Ball.
Ball tied his career-high in 3-pointers and his Pelicans single-game points high, burying seven long-range efforts on his way to 27 points and a 131-126 New Orleans win.
His performance wasn’t the product of a revenge tour, nor did he admit any extra motivation. It was him simply staying the course.
“I’ve been playing basketball for a long time,” Ball said. “I put a lot of work in and I just go out there and try to play my game and that’s how I play. For me, I just try to stay away from all the noise and go out there and help my team win games.”
Help he did on Friday. Ball hardly missed in the second half, going 5-of-7 from range and 6-of-9 overall for 17 points across the final two frames. It was Ball that opened the half with a corner 3-pointer, then hit a shot from the exact same spot 30 seconds later. One quarter and a Bucks rally later, it was Ball that stymied the comeback with a 3-pointer from virtually the same spot.
The confidence was evident as he finished 7-for-13 on 3-pointers on the night. Over his last three halves, Ball is shooting 10-for-20 from three and has brought his 3-point percentage up four points to his career average of 33%.
“When he’s just playing the game, going off instincts, not predetermining anything, then he looks really, really good out there,” Brandon Ingram said of his teammate, the second time in as many games he’s offered a glowing review of Ball. “It looks like he’s in rhythm coming off screens and getting into his mid-range, coming off screens and taking open threes, getting downhill and maybe finishing or finding the open guy. It just looks like he’s just letting the game come to him and he’s just playing free.”
Ball’s freedom was not limited to his 3-point shot. He knocked down a number of mid-range efforts, tacked on eight assists and helped the Pelican starters score 105 points on the night.
Backcourt mate Eric Bledsoe, who has similarly struggled to adjust to his new team and teammates, matched Ball nearly shot for shot, finishing 7-of-14 from the field for 25 points.
“Whenever me and Bledsoe shoot like we did tonight,” Ball said, “I definitely like our chances moving forward. But I think it’s just about generating good shots and keeping the floor spaced and that’s what we did tonight.”
His confidence and aggressiveness may have been evident in the box score, but it wasn’t the only way his teammates took notice.
“With any player, as a defensive player, if you see someone with that body language in terms of coming straight at you and taking those angles, it forces you to make drastic decisions,” Steven Adams said. “It puts you in a tough area as opposed to being passive. Then the defense is like ‘Ok, sweet. We can be passive also.’
“The difference is the start of the play matters and how he entered the play at that pace sets the tone for that play,” he continued. “That shouldn’t be overlooked either. It isn’t so much he was just talking his stuff, the way he was playing was really good. That kind of fit us, I thought. It kind of started the spark.”
One game or three halves won’t silence the trade rumors, which are bound to only continue to the trade deadline and resurface once more in the off-season with Ball set for restricted free agency. But the statistics have never been what Ball is chasing and it’s not something he anticipates changing now.
“I’m just happy to get the win,” Ball said. “You all know how I play, I just try to win and I’m glad it happened tonight.”
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