Ball leads Hornets to thrilling victory over Rockets for opening day victory
Ball had 34 points and 11 assists as the Hornets beat out the Rockets 110-105.
CHARLOTTE — “The basketball gods love LaMelo,” the Hornets announcer booms. And he’s not wrong. En route to a thrilling double-double where LaMelo Ball single-handedly lifted his Hornets to their first win of the season, Ball had broke out for two highlight plays — one a sensational offensive rebound off his three-pointer, and another an Ausar Thompson-contested logo three, where he characteristically extended his tattooed arm after to put the Hornets up five with 100 seconds left. It seemed Melo was by far the best player on the court — over one of the league’s most promising duos in Jalen Green and Alperen Șengün. When he wasn’t on the court, the Hornets looked despondent — but when he was, they were world-beaters.
The world seemed against them as they took on Houston on Wednesday. They were missing a laundry list of people — mainly starting shooting guard Josh Green, seven-foot unicorn Mark Williams, and 2024 first-rounder Tidjane Salaun. The Hornets trotted out Ball, making his first appearance in Charlotte blue since going down with an ankle injury in January (against the Rockets!) Cody Martin, Brandon Miller, Miles Bridges, and Nick Richards joined him.
The start of the game went solidly for Charlotte. Brandon Miller, tipped as a sleeper pick for an All-Star nomination, broke out early, first posterizing Jabari Smith Jr. off a Melo dish and then converting a huge four-point play to silence the raucous Houston crowd. Yet as the first half wore on, constant mistakes reminded Charlotte of the 60-loss season they had just escaped from.
Although Melo looked so lethal with him at the offense’s head, they suffered without him. Vasa Micić, the second-string point guard and one of Charlotte’s only adept orchestrators up top struggled mightily in the first half. You watched him and thought of a 40-year-old staggering around a Planet Fitness — he looked outmatched in pick-and-roll situations, and his inability to deal with Houston’s loaded backcourt spelled doom for Charlotte.
Green caught fire as the Hornets’ intensity petered out — scoring 13 first-half points on 4-12 shooting, exploiting the hole Josh Green’s sore Achilles left. Sengun somehow did better, exploding for 19 points, 13 rebounds, and two steals. Even with Sengun as one of the West’s best frontcourt players, you could argue that the Hornets’ biggest weakness in the offense was reflected in their flimsy frontcourt. Nick Richards struggled to contain Sengun in the first half, which contributed to the 18-point deficit the Hornets faced in the second quarter.
To make matters worse, Miller limped off the court with a glute strain. Instead of spending time between the paint, the perimeter, and the midrange as a three-level threat, Miller saw the bench, the tunnel, and the locker room. The Hornets iced him for the game, and team officials confirmed he would miss at least a week as he nurses his injury — including crucial division matches against the Hawks and Heat.
With a porous defense, a sluggish offense, injury concerns with Miller, and an inability to stop the one-two duo of Green and Sengun, Charles Lee did what he does best. Change.
Grant Williams switched from guarding Jabari Smith Jr. and Tari Eason to the big dog in Sengun. He unlocked Melo’s secret weapon (not his three-point shooting or his playmaking) in his defense. With Miller out, Lee turned to the next man up in Tre Mann.
It meant Tre Mann had to step up — and step up he did. He embodied Allen Iverson — the white headband, baggy jersey, and pants, and most importantly, the excellent shot creation. With Ball’s high-intelligence passes — he had six second-half assists — the Hornets offense thrived. Mann caught fire late in the game, scoring 24 points from off the bench on 8-16 shooting.
“Yeah, I think it showed how good of a defensive team we are,” Lee said. “When it mattered and when we needed to claw back into this game, I thought our defense took another level, too. In the first half, we got some pretty good looks, but didn’t knock them down, unfortunately.”
Their transition offense was on the verge of failing. Bridges was quiet. Many things went wrong with the Hornets’ 2024/25 season debut, but with the second half, and Charles Lee’s halftime adjustments, they were still in it.
The Hornets jetted out to a 24-8 run early into the fourth quarter, taking the lead in the most Charles Lee-ish way possible. With Charlotte and Houston deadlocked with 11 minutes left in the fourth quarter, Jalen Green has the ball at the top of the key. Mann guards him. Green uses a Sengun screen to reach his preferred spot — the elbow. Mann fights through. He goes back right, before chasing him around the perimeter and putting him on lockdown. Lee barks at him to continue.
With the shot clock ticking away, Green is forced to shove away a pass to Sengun, who turns the ball over. As Lee has espoused all offseason, defense turns into transition, and it’s Bridges on the break after a hard-earned forced turnover. Bridges pushes the ball and lays it off to Ball. He takes flight as a star-struck rookie Reed Sheppard watches. Lob. Dunk. Lead taken. Toyota Center is silenced, but the Hornets bench couldn’t get louder.
“First game, so you want to come out and set a tone,” Ball told the Observer. “So we had to get that first one.”
Melo reached primetime in the fourth quarter. Green and Melo went bucket for bucket late in the quarter, but the Rockets seemed less connected offensively than the Hornets — particularly a tough and-one over Williams. It was Ball who mixed his own offensively lethal playstyle with his ability to find an open man. It was Ball at the center of the game’s most important play. It was Ball, drawing a double-team off a pick-and-pop and slinging a ball out to Williams, all alone at the top of the key. After sending Sengun flying with a pump fake, Williams drains the three to put the Hornets up 106-103. Sengun loses the ball in transition and Williams jumps on the loose ball to all but seal the game for the Hornets.
A game of ups and downs, ultimately defined by LaMelo Ball’s 32-point, 11-assist performance, will hopefully define the Hornets’ impending season. There are still holes that need to be fixed and questions looming (when will we see Tidjane?), but for now, enjoy the win. They might be hard to come by.