Field Level Media
Jan 9, 2021
Rookie LaMelo Ball had a triple-double and Terry Rozier scored 23 points as the Charlotte Hornets stretched their winning streak to three games by defeating the Atlanta Hawks 113-105 on Saturday night in Charlotte, N.C.
P.J. Washington added 22 points for Charlotte.
Ball, a first-round draft pick in November, secured his first career triple-double with 22 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists. The 19-year-old guard played 31 minutes off the bench, and he was charged with only one turnover. He's the youngest player in NBA history with a triple-double.
It's back-to-back losses to Charlotte for the Hawks, who lost Wednesday night's matchup at home. The Hornets had a game in between, winning Friday night at New Orleans.
Ball was an assist shy of a triple-double in the New Orleans game.
On Saturday, Ball was the only Charlotte player with more than seven rebounds.
Cam Reddish's 21 points, De'Andre Hunter's 20 and Trae Young's 15 points paced the Hawks. John Collins had 12 points and Kevin Huerter supplied 11.
Young was 0-for-5 on 3s, pushing his mark to 0-for-8 from long range in two meetings with Charlotte this week. Young went 5-for-19 overall Saturday night.
Caleb Martin had 15 points for Charlotte and Gordon Hayward, who had a career-high 44 on Wednesday, added 13 points.
The Hornets led 59-50 at halftime, outscoring Atlanta 17-6 across the final five minutes of the second quarter. Ball had eight of Charlotte's points during that span.
Atlanta took more than half of its 91 shots from the field from 3-point range, going 14-for-46 from deep.
Despite the 109 total first-half points, the only players in double figures were Washington with 12 points and Collins with 10 points.
An 11-point lead from the first half had dipped to a five-point spread late in the third quarter before the Hornets surged again. They went up 98-83.
Hunter had nine consecutive of Atlanta's points during a fourth-quarter span in attempt to keep the Hawks within range.
--Field Level Media