LaMelo Ball showcased his leadership by inspiring the Charlotte Hornets at halftime to pull off a spectacular 23-point comeback against the Indiana Pacers.
The Hornets were down 59-75 at halftime, and with the Pacers dominating the floor thus far, LaMelo seized this opportunity to step up as a leader — all it took were 8 commanding words to spark the season opener comeback.
Via Akshay Manwani of Sportskeeda:
“We just wanted to win. We went into the locker room, I said, ‘Do we want to win? C’mon, let’s win.’ The only way to do that is playing hard.”
Ball's halftime pep talk worked out to great effect in the end as Charlotte went on to steal a win away from Indiana, 123-122, with Domantas Sabonis narrowly missing a tough midrange jumper that could have won Indiana the game.
The 2nd-year Hornets guard finished the game with an all-around stat line, tallying 31 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 steals in only 29 minutes of action. LaMelo also showed off his range hitting 7 of his 9 attempted 3-pointers, which he strongly attributed to his hard work in the off-season.
“I just stay in the gym, just work on my game. Go out there and feel confident about every shot I take. That’s pretty much it.”
This electric performance also helped Ball become the third-youngest player in NBA history with 30 points in a season opener, with Lamar Odom and John Drew being the two younger players to achieve the feat.
The Hornets will look to ride on this morale-boosting win as they go on the road against Collin Sexton and the Cleveland Cavaliers in their next outing.
With a rejuvenated roster, the future is looking very bright at the moment for the city of Charlotte, and Hornets fans will be hopeful that LaMelo Ball can keep building on his incredible rise to superstardom.
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