Ball got the ultimate green light. In a rematch from a week ago, where the Charlotte Hornets won by the slimmest of margins, 115-114, on a controversial foul call, this time around, the Milwaukee Bucks got their revenge. The Hornets lost a nailbiter to the Bucks on Saturday night, but LaMelo Ball’s name will still go in the history books.
Ball, 23, scored a career-high 50 points in the Hornet’s 125-119 loss to the Bucks at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee. He went 17-of-38 from the field and 6-of-17 from 3-point range in 40 minutes of action. Ball had 10 points in the first half, before taking the game over and dropping 40 in the second half. He finished the night with 10 assists, five rebounds and one steal.
Ball has joined elite company being the fifth player this season to score at least 50 points in a game, joining Sacramento Kings De’Aaron Fox (60, Nov. 15), Bucks Giannis Antetokounmpo (59, Nov. 13), San Antoni Spurs Victor Wembanyama (50, Nov. 13) and Orlando Magics Paolo Banchero (50, Oct. 28).
Ball is only the ninth player in NBA history to post a stat line of 50-plus points, five-plus rebounds, 10-plus assists and five-plus 3s in the same game, joining James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Damian Lillard, Luka Doncic, LeBron James, Steph Curry, Donovan Mitchell and Kevin Porter Jr.
Ball is off to an unbelievable start to the 2024-25 season with averages of 30.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, 6.9 assists and 1.2 steals per contest while shooting 43.0% from the field and 35.6% from three-point range in 16 games.
Embed from Getty ImagesFor Hornets fans and NBA fans everywhere, they will love seeing this level of production and stardom after he only appeared in 22 games last year due to various injuries. However, with all those numbers, it has not resulted in the team’s success.
Ball joined the recently retired Kemba Walker as the only two players in Hornets history to score 50 points.
With the loss, the Hornets fall to 6-10 in their first 16 games, which has them sitting in eighth place in the Eastern Conference.
The road has not been kind, it has been more like the house of horrors to the up-and-coming Hornets. They are 1-7 in the eight games they have played away from Charlotte.
Ball was the third pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. He is currently in his fifth season, all with the Hornets, but the franchise has been in a rebuild and has not been able to reach the playoffs since 2016.
During the 2022 campaign, Ball earned his first NBA All-Star nod.
After the victory against the Hornets, All-Star point guard Damian Lillard was asked about Ball when he met with the media.
Lillard: “He just plays free. He got the ultra-green light. He can take any shot. He can do anything at any time, and that’s a tough thing to handle when somebody has that type of freedom… If you have that type of freedom and you can do anything, eventually you’re gonna start feeling good.”
Following the Bucks, the Hornets will play their next game on Monday when they return home to host Franz Wagner and the Orlando Magic.
