LaMelo Ball, Hornets bring Warriors win streak to end

Home cooking and a soft schedule had served the Warriors well with their fast start to the season — eight straight games at the Chase Center, which led to a seven-game win streak and the best record in the NBA.

But the Warriors forgot to pack their offense when they went out on the road Sunday.

Golden State shot 9-of-39 (23.1%) from 3 — the Warriors’ bench was 0-of-9 from deep — and scored less than a point per possession against a Charlotte team with a bottom-five defense. It wasn’t that the Hornets were locking the Warriors down; Golden State was just missing clean looks. Also, in crunch time, the Warriors struggled to generate good looks out of their halfcourt offense and shot 6-of-22 in the fourth (those struggles when it started to feel like a playoff game are not the best omen for Warriors fans).

Despite all that, the Warriors still could have walked away with a win, a Draymond Green dunk with :44 left tied the game. But then Miles Bridges got up a little a hook shot to put the Hornets up two, Kevon Looney missed a pair of free throws, and after Green tied up Rozier late and forced a jump ball, it was Rozier who won it, and not long after iced the game with two free throws.

The Hornets got 20 points in the second half from Rozier, Bridges scored 22 including that key bucket in the paint late, and LaMelo Ball did his damage early and finished with 21 points. This is a quality win for a Hornets team that now has its own three-game winning streak and seems to have found a rhythm.

The highlight of the game still belonged to Stephen Curry, who got some help from Jonathan Kuminga’s defense then made the pass of the night to Jordan Poole.

STEPH WITH THE NO-LOOK PASS TO JP 🙈 pic.twitter.com/ph95Rt8MHy

— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) November 15, 2021

The Warriors are on the road for three more games, and it doesn’t get any easier with Kevin Durant and the Nets coming up on Tuesday.

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Winners of two straight on the heels of a five-game losing streak, the Charlotte Hornets defeated the New York Knicks 104-96 on Friday night, evening their record at 7-7 for the year.

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   LaMelo Ball finished with just 12 points on 4-of-13 shooting, including 0-of-5 from 3. But his impact was felt in every other area. Ball finished with 17 rebounds, nine assists and five steals, leading the Hornets in each of those categories.Those numbers all topped the Knicks’ box score, as well.Per Elias Sports, Ball is the third-youngest player in NBA history to lead both teams outright in those three categories for a single game, trailing only Magic Johnson and Luka Doncic. Pretty decent company.

In the Hornets’ win tonight, LaMelo Ball led both teams outright in rebounds, assists and steals.

Only players to do that at a younger age: Luka Doncic and Magic Johnson. (via @EliasSports) pic.twitter.com/Y9gWfNsdNK

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 13, 2021

The stat line captures Ball’s across-the-board impact. He came into the league heralded as an exceptional passer, but he has proven to be much more. He’s a shooter. A scorer. At 6-foot-7, he can wreak havoc in passing lanes (two steals per game this season) and hold his own as a switchable, long, albeit sometimes undisciplined defender. He has rebounded from day one.

So far this season, Ball is the only player in the league averaging at least 19 points, seven assists, seven rebounds and two steals per game. If you take the points requirement down to 18 per game, only Dejounte Murray joins Ball on the list. Ball is all-around impact manifested, and it showed up in a historic way on Friday night.

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LaMelo Ball’s hilarious demand from Stephen Curry’s dad after beating Warriors

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Dell Curry always faces a dilemma whenever the Charlotte Hornets take on the Golden State Warriors. While he played for and serves as broadcaster for the Hornets, his son Stephen Curry stars for the opposing side.

However, LaMelo Ball is willing to spend some quality time with Dell if it softens the blow of Steph Curry’s Warriors falling to Charlotte. The sophomore stud was asked if Dell Curry pays for dinner after a Warriors win, to which LaMelo hilariously responded with an open invite if Papa Curry is willing.

“That’s a great question. I’d like to talk to Dell for sure,” said LaMelo after the Warriors win. “Eat some dinner with him. I’m always up for it if somebody paying, you feel me? I’ll be there. You feel me? If it’s free, it’s me.”

“You feel me? If it’s free, it’s me!” 😂@MELOD1P jokes with @JaredSGreenberg after the Hornets victory against the Warriors. #Gametime pic.twitter.com/Ixj9vzsKrT

— NBA TV (@NBATV) November 15, 2021

LaMelo Ball was key in the victory, piling up 21 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and three steals. He arguably outplayed his Warriors counterpart in Stephen Curry, who struggled to get his shot going on the evening.

If Dell Curry wasn’t picking up the check after their resounding win over the Warriors, Michael Jordan definitely should be. The Hornets dealt Golden State just their second loss of the season, cutting short their seven-game win streak.

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LaMelo Ball

LaMelo Ball

Facebook Twitter Google+ LinkedIn Ball with the Illawarra Hawks in 2019
No. 2 – Charlotte Hornets
Position	Point guard
League	NBA
Personal information
Born	August 22, 2001 (age 20) Anaheim, California
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight	180 lb (82 kg)
Career information
High school	Chino Hills (Chino Hills, California) SPIRE Academy (Geneva, Ohio)
NBA draft	2020 / Round: 1 / Pick: 3rd overall
Selected by the Charlotte Hornets
Playing career	2018–present
Career history
2018	Prienai
2018	Los Angeles Ballers
2019–2020	Illawarra Hawks
2020–present	Charlotte Hornets
Career highlights and awards
NBA Rookie of the Year (2021) NBA All-Rookie First Team (2021) NBL Rookie of the Year (2020) JBA champion (2018) JBA All-Star (2018)
Stats  Facebook Twitter Google+ LinkedIn at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

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LaMelo LaFrance Ball (born August 22, 2001) is an American professional basketball player for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected by the Hornets with the third overall pick of the 2020 NBA draft.

Ball began high school at Chino Hills High School in Chino Hills, California, where he won a state championship and achieved national success as a freshman with his older brothers Lonzo and LiAngelo. Before his junior season, a coaching dispute prompted him to leave Chino Hills and sign with Lithuanian professional team Prienai. In 2018, he played in the Junior Basketball Association (JBA), a league created by his father, before returning to high school as a senior with SPIRE Academy in Geneva, Ohio. Formerly committed to UCLA, he was a five-star recruit but chose to forgo college basketball amid eligibility concerns and play in Australia for the Illawarra Hawks of the National Basketball League (NBL) in 2019, winning NBL Rookie of the Year. He was selected by the Hornets with the third overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft and was named the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2021.

Ball and his brothers have attracted national attention since playing together in high school. His father, LaVar, also grew into a media personality in 2017. Ball has a signature shoe by his father’s company, Big Baller Brand, and a role on his family’s Facebook Watch reality show Ball in the Family.