LaMelo Ball Flirts with Triple-Double in Hornets' Win over Lonzo Ball, Pelicans

After ending their three-game losing streak Wednesday, the Charlotte Hornets have won back-to-back games for the second time this season after an 118-110 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night. 

Charlotte looked like it was going to be in for a long night after falling behind 54-36 late in the second quarter. The offense came to life in the second half with 71 points to steal the win from New Orleans. 

This matchup marked the first-ever NBA game between LaMelo Ball and Lonzo Ball. The Hornets rookie is still adjusting to the NBA, but he entered Friday with five straight games scoring at least 10 points. 

The Pelicans have lost a season-high three straight games and are under .500 for the first time in 2020-21 (4-5). Their losses to the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder this week were by a combined three points. 

Gordon Hayward led the way for the Hornets with 26 points. Ball finished one assist shy of a triple-double in 26 minutes off the bench. 

Zion Williamson did his part for the Pelicans with a team-high 26 points. Brandon Ingram was held to 17 points, his second-lowest output of the season. 

Notable Game Stats

• Gordon Hayward, CHA: 26 points (9-of-18 FG), 8 rebounds, 3 assists
• LaMelo Ball, CHA: 12 points (4-of-12 FG), 11 rebounds, 9 assists
• Miles Bridges, CHA: 20 points (8-of-11 FG), 4 rebounds
• Zion Williamson, NO: 26 points (12-of-22 FG), 8 rebounds, 3 assists
• Brandon Ingram, NO: 17 points (3-of-11 FG), 8 rebounds, 8 assists
• Josh Hart, NO: 19 points (6-of-8 FG), 8 rebounds

Pelicans Waste Dominant Effort from Williamson

There's a very clear formula for success in New Orleans, and it starts with Williamson and Ingram playing well on both ends of the floor. 

Head coach Stan Van Gundy had done a terrific job of getting his team to buy in on defense so far this season. The Pelicans entered Friday ranked fourth in points allowed per game (105.1) and 11th in rating, per Basketball-Reference.com. 

Charlotte isn't an offensive juggernaut, but it has players who are skilled at getting the ball up the floor in transition. That was a weakness for the Pelicans in their loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday. 

Things looked like they corrected themselves for the Pelicans on Friday, but the second half was a collapse that shows how far this team still has to go in its development. 

The offense got off to a quick start with 38 points in the first quarter, and the Pels led by as many as 18 points early in the second quarter. 

Williamson was the standout performer and go-to guy for New Orleans' offense. The 20-year-old hit the 20-point mark for the fifth time in the past six games. He completely overmatched a Charlotte defense that lacks size in the paint to disrupt his ability to get to the basket. 

New Orleans' defense fell apart in the second half. The Hornets dropped 35 points and shot 6-of-14 from three-point range in 12 minutes coming out of the intermission to close the deficit to five heading into the fourth. 

Friday was an indication of how reliant the Pelicans are on Williamson and Ingram. Williamson played well enough to win Friday, but Ingram had his worst shooting game of the season. It wound up playing a significant role in the team falling apart down the stretch.  

Ball Shines Off the Bench for Charlotte

Hornets head coach James Borrego has understandably tried to take things slow with Ball early in his rookie year. The 19-year-old has yet to start a game and was averaging 24 minutes per game coming into Friday. 

But there's no doubt Ball should be starting ahead of Devonte' Graham before too long. He nearly had his first career triple-double against the Pelicans, setting a career high with 10 rebounds and finishing with a team-high nine assists. 

There are certainly limitations to Ball's game at this early stage of his development. He made just four of 12 attempts from the field. This was expected as he made the transition to the NBA. Scouting reports noted shooting wasn't going to be a strength right away. 

Fortunately for the Hornets, Ball is so skilled in other areas that he doesn't need to be a dominant scorer at this stage of his career to make an impact. 

Graham remains the starting point guard right now because he led the team in scoring and shot a respectable 37.3 percent from three-point range in 2019-20. The 25-year-old has been terrible to start this season. He was shooting 26 percent from the field coming into Friday. That number will actually go up, even though he made just five of 15 attempts against the Pelicans. 

A deeper dive shows just how much more valuable Ball is than Graham at this point. 

Per ESPN's player efficiency rating metric, Ball ranks 24th among point guards at 16.88. Graham is 53rd out of 59 qualified players at the position (9.20). 

The Hornets operated this offseason like a team trying to make the playoffs, but the most important thing they can do in 2020-21 is get Ball reps as their starting point guard. 

What's Next?

The Hornets will return home for a Saturday matchup with Atlanta. The Pelicans will be off until Monday when they will play the Dallas Mavericks in the first game of a seven-game road trip.