Charlotte Hornets

One day after falling one assist shy of recording his first career triple-double, Charlotte Hornets rookie LaMelo Ball made history Saturday night in a 113-105 win over the Atlanta Hawks.

Ball finished with 22 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists to become the youngest player in NBA history with a triple-double. 

On Friday night, Ball put up 12 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. The rookie point guard recorded his first triple-double at 19 years and 140 days old. 

Markelle Fultz previously held the record as the youngest player with a triple-double. He was 19 years and 317 days old when he did it for the Philadelphia 76ers in April 2018. 

Ball, Fultz and Luka Doncic are the only teenagers in NBA history who have posted a triple-double. 

LaMelo Ball became the youngest player in NBA history to record a triple-double on Saturday night. 

The accomplishment seemed more like an expectation than an exception to the young Charlotte Hornets star.

"It's just basketball, and I'm doing what I love," Ball told the Hornets broadcast after posting 22 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists. "I've been doing this ever since I was three, so it comes quite easy to me."

That he was able to do it on such a quick turnaround was even more impressive. Ball faced his brother Lonzo and the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday, winning 118-110 before notching a 113-105 victory over the Atlanta Hawks at home on Saturday. 

The No. 3 overall pick of the 2020 draft was electric, shooting 9-of-13 from the field with three three-pointers, one steal and just one turnover in 31 minutes. 

Markelle Fultz previously held the record at 19 years, 317 days old. Ball beat that by doing it at 19 years, 140 days old. 

If this is just the start of what's to come, the hype may not have been grand enough for the Hornets rookie. 

Friday night marked the first time LaMelo and Lonzo Ball played against each other in the NBA, but the Charlotte Hornets rookie wasn't nervous.

Speaking to reporters after Charlotte's 118-110 over the New Orleans Pelicans, LaMelo said he remained calm while facing his big brother.

"I've been in this for a minute now," he said. "I had ESPN games since I was a kid. So it was all normal."

The Hornets looked to be in trouble early, and the Pelicans led 54-36 with less than five minutes remaining in the second quarter. Charlotte responded by outscoring New Orleans 71-51 in the second half to get its fourth win in nine games.

LaMelo finished one assist shy of a triple-double. He would have been the youngest player in NBA history to accomplish that feat.

He settled for 12 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. The 19-year-old set a career high in rebounds and tied his career high in assists against Lonzo, who finished with five points and three assists.

LaMelo Ball has showed a lot of upside during his first seven games in the NBA, but he isn't going to get away with everything at this level.

The Charlotte Hornets rookie received a warning from the NBA after trying to flop while defending Ben Simmons in Monday's game against the Philadelphia 76ers:

The NBA implemented an anti-flopping rule in 2012, giving a warning for the first offense but escalating fines for further incidents. If Ball is called out again, he will be fined $5,000.

Considering the officials weren't fooled by the dive either, he might be better off staying on his feet going forward.

Ball has still impressed early in his career with averages of 11.6 points, 4.9 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game off the bench for Charlotte.

Charlotte Hornets point guard LaMelo Ball bounced back from a scoreless NBA debut with 13 points and six rebounds in 15 minutes during his team's 109-107 home loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday.

Ball missed his first shot before hitting five straight to enter halftime with 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting. He hit a pair of three-pointers en route to helping Charlotte take a 59-57 lead into the third quarter. 

The 19-year-old also collected an errant Thunder pass and took care of business himself by going coast-to-coast for a dunk:

Ball went scoreless in the second half, but it was a good night for the 2020 NBA draft's No. 3 overall pick.

Beforehand, Ball went 0-of-5 in 16 minutes of play during the Hornets' 121-114 season-opening loss.

However, he impressed at times in the preseason, notably grabbing 10 rebounds in his first contest against the Toronto Raptors and dropping 18 points and five assists versus the Orlando Magic.

As for Saturday, the Hornets found themselves down 102-89 with just 1:50 remaining. Charlotte then went on an 18-5 run in 1:40 to tie the game at 107, but Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander put home the game-winner with 1.4 seconds left:

Ball and the Hornets will take the court next against the Brooklyn Nets at home on Sunday at 7 p.m. ET. 

Before the Charlotte Hornets dropped their season opener to the Cleveland Cavaliers, LaVar Ball had an idea on how to ensure the squad would come away with the win. Of course, it involved his son, LaMelo.

"If [Melo is] your marquee guy, what marquee guy don't start?" Ball said before the game on Wednesday, per TMZ Sports. 

LaMelo, who the Hornets drafted at No. 3 this fall after he spent the year playing internationally with the NBL's Hawks, didn't get the starting nod Wednesday since he is behind Devonte' Graham on the depth chart. But based on his performance, it might stay that way for a bit longer.

In 16 minutes, he had three assists, two steals and a rebound, but Ball became the first top-three pick to go scoreless in his debut since 2013, and just the fourth player in the last 15 seasons. Meanwhile, Graham posted 10 points, 10 assists and three rebounds in 37 minutes. 

Ball had an up-and-down preseason, scoring 30 points through the team's middle two preseason games but only four points in the preseason opener and zero to end the series of exhibition games.

Head coach James Borrego was critical of the rookie's shot selection, but noted that he was seeing growth from the 19-year-old already. 

After Wednesday's performance, it's clear that he just needs a bit more time to adjust before he can ditch the bench.

The Charlotte Hornets couldn't overcome the Cleveland Cavaliers in Wednesday's opening night loss after center Cody Zeller fractured his left hand after just 19 minutes, and they'll reportedly need to figure out a long-term game plan to win without him.

Zeller is expected to miss 4-6 weeks after he had surgery to fix his hand on Thursday, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

The center tallied six points, three rebounds and three steals in his debut before he went down.

Zeller is the longest-tenured player on the team, which drafted him out of Indiana with the No. 4 pick in 2013.

After he was limited by a knee injury in the 2017-18 season, appearing in a career-low 33 games, he rebounded over the next two years. After starting 47 of 49 appearances in 2018-19, he played in 58 games last season, when he posted a career-high 11.1 points on 52.4 percent shooting from the field, with 7.1 rebounds in 23.1 minutes.

The 28-year-old broke his right hand in 2018.

With Zeller sidelined, Charlotte will look to Bismack Biyombo, who played 24 minutes against Cleveland and had 11 points and four rebounds on 5-of-5 shooting. But if Biyombo doesn't prove to be a dependable option, the team could sign a free agent, with ESPN's Bobby Marks reporting that the club has an open roster spot.

Veteran Tyson Chandler, who would be entering his 20th season in the league, told reporters ahead of the restart in Orlando that he was undecided on his plans to retire, but he hasn't found a home since his contract with the Rockets expired at the end of the year.

He only saw 8.4 minutes per game through 26 outings with the Rockets last year, but he logged 16.4 minutes and 3.1 points per game through 48 games with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018-19.

LaMelo Ball struggled in his NBA debut Wednesday—then had a tough time getting through his postgame press conference after hackers twice interrupted the media session.

As Joe Vardon of The Athletic noted, the hackers jumped into Ball's Zoom call and trolled the Hornets point guard and reporters alike with "computer-generated coughing noises ... video-game noises, and something that could best be described as sounding like a cross between a vacuum cleaner and a bass beat from a techno track."

Ball soldiered through the media session nevertheless, taking questions after going scoreless in 16 minutes during in Charlotte's 121-114 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. 

"I don't really have emotions on the basketball court or anything like that. Just was having an off night and defense was lacking," Ball told reporters when asked if he was frustrated about sitting out the entire fourth quarter.

It's unclear if the NBA figured out who hacked into the Hornets' Zoom, though it's unlikely this will be the only time this season there are disruptions to press conferences.     

LaMelo Ball had an NBA debut to forget, and Gordon Hayward told his teammate to do just that after the Charlotte Hornets lost 121-114 to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

"We all know some days are diamonds and some days are stones," Hayward told reporters.

The 2017 All-Star added that his guidance to Ball was to "just forget this one." 

Ball shot 0-of-5 from the floor and finished with three assists and three turnovers in 16 minutes on the floor. A roughly 10-second stretch summed up his night. The 19-year-old turned the ball over, stole it back, and turned it back over.

According to Elias Sports (via ESPN Stats & Info), Ball is the fourth top-three pick over the last 15 years to go scoreless in his first game. The other three players (Otto Porter Jr., Hasheem Thabeet and Greg Oden) don't make for great company.

As much hype as Ball carried into the NBA, a difficult adjustment period is in store.

Guards generally have the hardest time as rookies. They have the ball in their hands more frequently, thus leaving them more prone to turnovers, and they can be left on an island defensively.

Not every rookie can be Luka Doncic, who had already proven himself in Spain and the EuroLeague before making the jump to the United States.

The transition is exacerbated for Ball since he had just 12 games in Australia's National Basketball League under his belt before a foot injury ended his season in January. That's a long time to be out of action before getting thrown into the NBA fire.

To the extent Ball should remember Wednesday's defeat, he should use it as a learning experience.

Charlotte Hornets small forward Gordon Hayward suffered a XX injury against the TEAM on DAY, according to SOURCE X.

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This is the second notable injury for Hayward in Charlotte after the team's marquee free agent signing fractured his finger in December.

The injury to his shooting hand occured in a preseason loss to the Toronto Raptors, with the Hornets saying  at the time his return would be based on "pain tolerance and comfort level." 

Hayward's 2019-20 season was disrupted by multiple injuries, so the hope is that the start to his tenure in North Carolina isn't derailed by the same issues that marred his time with the Boston Celtics. 

The 30-year-old signed a four-year, $120 million deal with the Hornets after opting out in Boston during the offseason. That was considered quite a gamble after Hayward suffered a fractured hand in November, dealt with a Grade 3 ankle sprain during the playoffs in August and saw his level of play decline overall.

Hayward averaged 10.8 points and 4.0 assists per postseason game but was only available for five contests in the playoffs. 

Charlotte is hoping the latest issue won't have too much of an effect on his play.