Recap/Analysis: LaMelo Ball leads Hornets to comeback win over Rockets – At The Hive

LaMelo Ball had a near triple double with 34 points, 11 assists, and eight rebounds as the Charlotte Hornets overcame an 18 point deficit to beat the Rockets, 110-105.

The summary

LaMelo Ball scored the first Hornets points of the season with a 3-pointer from the right wing. That was shortly followed by the first dunk of the season, which came from Brandon Miller, and it might end up being the dunk of the season.

First dunk of the szn for 24@drpepper | @FDSN_Hornets pic.twitter.com/FakLxdfF20

— Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) October 24, 2024

A few plays later, Ball passed up a wide open look at a three to feed Miller for his own wide open 3-point attempt, which he hit while getting fouled. The Hornets struggled from the field outside of those highlights and trailed by five after one. The offensive struggles continued into the second quarter, and the Hornets fell behind by as many as 18 in the later parts of the half. LaMelo spurred a 9-2 run with some help from some wild chucking from Jalen Green to bring the Hornets back to within 11 heading into the break.

The Hornets started to slip early in the second half, but Charles Lee called a quick timeout to get his team refocused. The comeback accelerated late in the third quarter, and they had cut the deficit to just four heading into the fourth. They forced a couple of quick turnovers and took the lead on this play.

A steal and a SLAM@drpepper | @FDSN_Hornets pic.twitter.com/VNqcMjOPK8

— Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) October 24, 2024

The teams traded the lead a couple more times over the course of the fourth. Grant Williams and Tre Mann each hit big threes as the teams exchanged punches down the stretch. Ball badly missed a 3-pointer, but chased down his own rebound and laid it in to give the Hornets a late 100-98 lead. He followed that with a made 3-pointer a few feet further in to give the Hornets a five point edge with under two minutes to play.

Jalen Green scored five straight to tie it again. Grant Williams, who had been called for a couple of fouls that aided the Rockets rally, hit a sidestep three to regain the lead then dove on a wayward pass by Alperen Sengun. Tre Mann tried to ice the game with a drive to the basket. It didn’t go in, but he chased down his own miss after a savvy tip by Seth Curry. LaMelo and Mann iced the game with free throws.

The Good

LaMelo Ball is still a superstar. With all the games he’s missed, I think people forget how absurdly productive he was when healthy last season. He picked up right where he left off with his near triple double. He did more than fill up the box score though. He made effort plays deflecting rebounds and saving loose balls. He had a team best +14 plus-minus, and it was well deserved. If this is the LaMelo Ball we get all season, he’s going to be a problem.

Tre Mann seemingly proved that his breakout preseason wasn’t a mirage. He played 29 minutes off the bench and scored 24 points and chased down six rebounds. He’s showed a lot of wiggle as a shot creator and earned himself a chance to put the game away at the end after hitting several big shots in the fourth quarter. How many performances like this before we start the sixth man of the year campaign? Is it too early to talk about it?

The Hornets played like a good team. Mann and Ball combined for 58 points, but the other 52 were pretty evenly split among the rest of the players that played. The ball moved freely on offense, and the defense was pretty connected with their switching and cross matching. After struggling on the glass in the first half, the Hornets did a really good job of gang rebounding, tipping balls away for teammates to recover.

Charles Lee is 1-0 as a head coach. Congrats on the first career win.

The Bad

I feel a little bad because this space has been kind of reserved for this player as of late, but Vasilije Micic continued his struggles from the preseason. He looks very unsure on the court. In the first quarter in particular, he dwelled on the ball a lot and didn’t seem to trust in anything he was doing. He finished the night 2-of-9 from the field with just one assist to three turnovers.

Miles Bridges was pretty invisible for most of the night, even after Miller went out.

Grant Williams committed a couple of tough fouls at the end that gave the Rockets life including fouling Jabari Smith on a desperation attempt with less than five seconds left. He also needs to stop pleading to the bench to review every single time he gets called for a foul. It’s super annoying.

One game, one injury. Brandon Miller left the game with what is being called hip soreness. He fell to the floor during a scramble for a rebound in the second quarter and came up a little gimpy. I assume that’s where he hurt it. It seems to be minor issue.

The Funny

With FanDuel taking ownership of the broadcast rights for the Hornets, they obviously inserted some promotional stuff. The main thing was having Eric Collins remind people of the live betting lines coming out of some commercial breaks. He did not sound too thrilled to do that. Most of the time he was like “yep those are the lines…they move.”

What’s Next

The Hornets head to Atlanta to take on the 1-0 Hawks on Friday.