Spurs Spoil LaMelo Ball’s Return, Sending Hornets To Blowout Road Loss

Even though the Charlotte Hornets finally welcomed back LaMelo Ball from a 20-game absence, his star presence was nowhere near enough to prevent a lopsided 135-99 loss in San Antonio on Friday night.

All things considered, Ball looked good in his first outing since Nov. 26, finishing with a game-high 28 points on 5-of-14 shooting, five assists, a career-high-tying five steals and six turnovers in 27 minutes. The 22-year-old set new career highs for both free-throw makes (15) and attempts (16), becoming the second player in team history with at least five steals and 15 made free throws in a game (Eddie Jones on April 27, 1999), per Basketball Reference. 

Following an ugly opening frame by both sides, San Antonio capped a 26-11 second quarter run with three Doug McDermott 3-pointers to help take a commanding 66-45 halftime lead. That would just about do it for the Hornets, who committed 13 turnovers – nearly doubling their first half total – and got outscored by 15 points across the ensuing two quarters of action.

“We didn’t get off to a great start, especially offensively, and our offense hurt our defense tonight,” said Hornets Head Coach Steve Clifford following the loss. “I just think we have to get more organized. As guys come back, it’s not going to be seamless, especially with us where we have so many guys out. We’re not organized at all out there and that hurt us tonight.”

The Hornets shot a season-low 36.0% (30-of-87) and drained only 10 3-pointers on a 29.4% clip. Much like Wednesday night’s showing against Sacramento, Charlotte’s paint offense left a whole lot to be desired, resulting in only 38 points on a paltry 42.2% efficiency. Disorganization, poor decision-making at the rim and turnovers (20) were ongoing issues for a majority of the contest.

In what has now become just a downright eerie trend this season, another Hornet player went down – this time Brandon Miller – in the same game as another one returned from injury. Keldon Johnson attempted to block Miller’s transition dunk late in the first quarter, causing the rookie to slam awkwardly onto the floor. Miller was soon ruled out with a lower back contusion, while Johnson was assessed a Flagrant 1 foul on the play. 

San Antonio notched consecutive wins for the second time this season, thanks in large part to the extraordinary play of reigning first overall pick Victor Wembanyama. The rookie Frenchman led the Spurs with 26 points on 9-of-14 shooting, a game-high 11 rebounds and two blocks, though his 7’4” stature influenced several Charlotte attempts. McDermott (14), Jeremy Sochan (13), Devin Vassell (12), Cedi Osman (11) and Johnson (10) also scored in double figures to help the hosts snap a five-game losing streak to Charlotte.

The Hornets will remain on the road to face the Miami Heat for the fourth and final time this season on Sunday, Jan. 14 beginning at 6 PM ET. Follow all the action on Bally Sports Southeast and WFNZ 92.7 FM.