The Charlotte Hornets split their games in their mini Los Angeles pit stop on their Western Conference trip. They lost to the Clippers in Crypto.com Arena 126-105, but got a bounce-back win against the Lakers. The Hornets were up by as much as 16 points at one point, but LeBron James erased that league nearly single-handedly, scoring and assisting on a bulk of his team's baskets down the stretch of the fourth. Thankfully LaMelo Ball & Terry Rozier maintained their productivity on offense for the Hornets to put this game away. They combined for 46 points, 12 rebounds, and 14 assists. It was also Rozier's first game back after missing the last two competitions on their road trip.

WILD Finish In The Fourth

Both teams traded baskets for the final three minutes of the game. Meaning key stops would be what would put this game to rest. In the closing seconds, Gordon Hayward collected an offensive rebound and attempted to lay the ball up. The Lakers were hit with a goal tend and that ended up being a dagger. LeBron attempted to take matters into his own hands, but he lost his shoe on the way to the cup and fell. A much-needed win was gifted to the Hornets as a nice, early Christmas gift.

The Hornets are currently 2-2 on their six-game Wesy road trip. Winning cures all and the team looks like they are improving at the right time before the All-Star break. Their offense looks more free-flowing with LaMelo Ball back out on the floor and getting comfortable. Having Hayward and Rozier back as well makes that starting lineup flow better on both sides of the ball. The Hornets were able to score 32 points off of the Lakers' 17 turnovers. They are capitalizing off of the other team's opposing mistakes, which is great to see from a young team.

Hopefully, they can build off of this solid performance and take it into Portland on the day after Christmas. They going to need to be well-rested to take on Damian Lillard and that tough, gritty group of guys that are fighting for a playoff spot.