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The Charlotte Hornets fell to the Los Angeles Lakers 112-107, but it came with unfortunate news for their All-Star player. LaMelo Ball left in the middle of the second quarter with a left ankle sprain and did not return.
After stepping on Jared Vanderbuilt's foot, Ball quickly intentionally fouled and hobbled back to the locker room. Ball played for only nine minutes and scored seven points before suffering his injury.
Charles Lee's update on LaMelo Ball
After getting through the game, Hornets head coach Charles Lee gave his vantage point about the incident.
“I came in here pretty quickly afterward, so I know they’re still obviously doing some evaluation. I think he shot the ball and backed up to get back on defense and stepped on a foot. We’ll see what happens tomorrow as he comes in for treatment and stuff, but he did a great job of being in the locker room and being engaged as the guys came off the court.”
There should be an update as soon as Tuesday on his status throughout the rest of the homestretch.
Miles Bridges talks about Hornets rallying back
After Ball went down due to injury, Miles Bridges stepped up to keep his team involved in the game. He finished with 26-points and eight rebounds. The forward was Charlotte's engine, and despite being down by more than 20 points in the first quarter, they made it an eight point game by halftime,
Bridges credits the Hornets defense for the reason Charlotte almost made the comeback.
“Just our defense,” Bridges said. “When we’re down like that, I was just preaching, ‘Defense, defense. Both Joshes [Green and Okogie] responded. Moussa [Diabate] came in, everybody just came in and worked. We did a great job of next man up mentality.”
Energy was high despite missing out on their featured player. Turning negative circumstances into a positive is something to highlight. Even with the loss, it's something to build off in case Ball is out for an extended period of time.
Three games down, six more to go at home
The Hornets are about a third of the way through their nine game home stand. So far their sitting at 1-2 after falling to the Lakers and Anthony Davis' monster 42 point and 23 rebound game. Without Ball, the Hornets are going to need to find an effective play style and find a way to replicate wins.
Although Miles Bridges was able to erase some of the flaws of the team offensively, other guys are going to need to step up.
