Rookie LaMelo Ball drilled a career-best 7 three-pointers as the Charlotte Hornets blitzed the Houston Rockets from behind the arc in their 119-94 win at the Spectrum Center on Monday, February 8 (Tuesday, February 9, Manila time).
Ball paired 24 points with 10 assists to pace the Hornets, who improved to 4-0 at home in the second half of back-to-back sets. Charlotte finished 19 for 41 on three-pointers, with Ball, Gordon Hayward (3 for 5) and Terry Rozier (3 for 8) hitting at least 3 three-pointers to lead the charge.
Still, despite the Hornets’ barrage, the Rockets pulled even at 87-87 with 23.7 seconds remaining in the 3rd quarter on a second-chance basket from rookie forward Jae’Sean Tate.
But Houston did not score another field goal until Victor Oladipo sank a triple with 4:16 left to play and the Hornets seized control with a 21-1 run that pushed the Rockets into a 108-88 hole.
Hayward scored 19 points while Rozier chipped in 15. Miles Bridges (19 points, 10 rebounds) and Malik Monk (14 points, 6-for-11 shooting) scored in double figures off the Charlotte bench.
The Rockets, playing without starters Christian Wood (right ankle sprain), John Wall (rest), and Eric Gordon (rest), were led by Oladipo (21 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists).
Danuel House Jr and Tate scored 13 points apiece as Houston, which has dropped 3 of 4 games, featured its 14th different starting lineup. The Rockets missed 34 of their 47 three-pointers.
Ben McLemore, playing primarily because Wall and Gordon were unavailable, kept Houston afloat with 15 first-half points on 4 of 5 three-pointers. He was the linchpin of a 9-2 spurt that resulted in a 53-50 lead on a House dunk late in the 2nd, but the Hornets responded with a 12-3 run of their own.
That followed one especially brilliant stretch from Ball, who sandwiched two triples around an assist on a Gordon three-pointer. Ball opened the 3rd with his fifth trey to surpass his career high. – Rappler.com
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