Hornets, Ball Lose a Nail-Bitter to Spurs in Summer League

LiAngelo Ball had his first sub-par game of the NBA Summer League on Thursday. The Charlotte Hornets suffered their third straight loss, 106-105 against the San Antonio Spurs.

Tre Jones made the game winning field goal with 1.6 seconds remaining. Jones had a great all-around game, scoring a game high 34 points on 12-of-20 from the field. He also contributed nine assists and eight rebounds in 29 minutes of action.

Hornets’ rookie James Bouknight had a great performance today, after having an off-night on Monday against the Sacramento Kings, in particular, Davion Mitchell.

Bouknight, who was selected No. 11 overall in the 2021 NBA draft, scored a team high 23 points on 11-of-23 from the floor. He added eight assists and did not have any turnovers.

LiAngelo Ball was only able to muster eight points on 33% shooting in 12 minutes of playing time. He entered today’s contest averaging 13 points in the two previous summer league games, including going 5-8 from deep versus the Portland Trail Blazers.

Despite not having one of his best shooting days, Ball was able to give the fans something to cheer about. He hit a 38-foot buzzer beater (0.6 seconds) off an inbound pass going into the halftime break. There was some doubt whether the basket would count because the game clock failed to start. Eventually, the basket was confirmed by the officials.

Ball joined the G League’s Oklahoma City Blue, which is the Oklahoma City Thunder’s affiliate, as a practice player in December 2019. He officially signed with the team in March of last year. He could not appear in any games for them because the remainder of the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prior to the start of the 2020 campaign, Ball signed on with the Detroit Pistons on a training camp deal. He was released on December 13, before appearing in any games.

The early reaction to Ball’s performance has been mostly positive. The odds are stacked against him to make the Hornets team, but if he keeps playing well and improving, there is a good chance another organization will pick him up.

Charlotte has an off day on Friday, returning Saturday to face off with the Toronto Raptors at the Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas. The Spurs have two days before facing the Brooklyn Nets to close out their summer league.