On a night where New Orleans suffered one of the most frustrating losses of the season, Lonzo Ball provided a glowing bright spot on the night. Ball poured in 26 points, tied his season-high in three-pointers and surpassed 1,000 career assists with his eight helpers on the night.
The 26 points are one shy of his season-high, which came against Houston in late December. That game also was the lone other time this season Ball has hit seven three-pointers, a mark that is also his career-high in threes.
Arguably the biggest shot of the night from Ball was his final one as his late, off-balance three-pointer in the final seconds gave New Orleans one last chance at a miracle comeback.
Prior to that final shot, Ball also surpassed 1,000 career assists, becoming the second player in his 2017 draft class to achieve that mark with Sacramento’s De’Aaron Fox being the other. Injuries kept Ball from achieving the feat sooner as his 6.6 assists per game currently leads all players in the draft class but his 152 games are 40 less than Fox.
Ball also set a new personal best in games played in a season by starting the game. Tuesday was Ball’s 53rd game of the season, surpassing the 52 games played in his rookie season.
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