LiAngelo Ball Drops 12 in Loss to Neptunas as LaMelo Sits Again with Back Injury

With LaMelo Ball once again sitting out with a strained back, LiAngelo Ball shouldered a heavier offensive load in BC Vytautas Prienu's 73-65 loss against Neptunas on Saturday. 

Ball led Vytautas starters with 12 points, though he didn't make it look easy by hitting just four of his 14 attempts. He came into the game leading the team with an average of 14.5 points in six Lithuanian Basketball Federation contests. 

While Ball struggled to find consistency with his shot, the entire Vytautas team nearly pulled off a terrific comeback instead of falling to 5-19 in the LKL. The first quarter looked like a disaster with Neptunas storming out to a 24-7 lead. 

Vytautas slowly chipped away at the deficit, though, even tying the game at 59 with a 16-3 run to start the fourth quarter. Vytautas Sulskis, who had 16 points in 27 minutes, put Neptunas back on top with a go-ahead three-pointer to halt his team's slide. 

This loss followed a similar pattern to Vytautas' previous game against BC Lietuvos Rytas on March 3. Ball's team fell behind big early, started eating away at the deficit before tying the score in the fourth quarter only to run out of gas in the final stretch.

LaMelo has dealt with leg and back injuries recently. The Vytautas coaching staff is being cautious with the 16-year-old, holding him out to allow him time to get healthy. 

LiAngelo has had the spotlight to himself and taken advantage of it, at least to some extent. He was going against a Neptunas team that owns the LKL's third-best record. 

Despite not having his best statistical game, LiAngelo composed himself and helped Vytautas fight back against one of the league's top teams.

He will have his opportunity to get back on track for Vytautas' next game against Dzukija on March 19.