LaMelo Ball Says Historic Loss to Magic 'Hurt a Lot,' Reflects on Hornets' NBA Play-In Exit
Charlotte Hornets star LaMelo Ball says he hopes to learn from helping his team come within one win of making the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
After earning a comeback win against the Miami Heat to extend their season, the Hornets were eliminated from the play-in tournament Friday night with 121-90 blowout loss to the Orlando Magic.
"Obviously, hurt a lot, but I feel like it's all just learning lessons," Ball told reporters after the loss. "You live, you learn, you evolve and you move on."
When asked how he could learn from Friday's loss, Ball answered, "You watch, you know what you did wrong. Everybody, you're feeling a type of way after the game, for sure, that you obviously don't want to feel in the future.
"So it's just keep that burn right there, and just remember it, so you ain't got to go through it again."
The Magic grabbed an early lead Friday and never let up, establishing a 31-point first-half lead while Ball was held to just two points.
Ball upped his game to contribute 21 points in the second half, but was unable to help the Hornets overcome the early deficit. Charlotte ultimately conceded the largest blowout loss in NBA play-in history.
"I feel like it was just too late," Ball said about his third-quarter surge. "I should have been doing that from the jump, for real. Like I said, we were doing a lot of plays and stuff, just getting pushed around and everything. I feel like I should have just took the ball from the beginning."
Ball was instrumental on Tuesday in the Hornets' win over the Heat, from which the NBA later ruled he should have been ejected in the second quarter should officials have called a missed flagrant foul on Bam Adebayo.
He instead stayed on the court and helped the Hornets launch a regulation comeback, then sunk the overtime game-winner to keep Charlotte's postseason alive.
Ball was unable to find similarly clutch production when faced with the physicality of the Magic's defense on Friday.
The Hornets will now extend their NBA-long playoff drought to at least 11 seasons despite posting 44 wins, the franchise's most since 2016, during the regular season.
