LaMelo Ball's Triple-Double Not Enough for Hornets Against Clippers

The Hornets have struggled against the Clippers for the past decade. Their last win against the Clippers was in 2017 in Charlotte. The Hornets haven't beaten the Clippers in Los Angeles since 2009. That trend continued tonight as the Hornets fell 126-105.

The Clippers were led by Nic Batum with 21 points on 7-10 shooting from three-point. The Clippers shot 23-48 from three-point tonight to overcome their 27 turnovers.

The Hornets started off the game with an early 6-5 lead, but after that, it was all Clippers. The Clippers went on a 28-7 run to take a 33-13 lead at one point in the first quarter. The Hornets struggled with the Clippers' pesky defense as they created 6 Hornets turnovers for 14 points. Kelly Oubre Jr had a rough first quarter offensively as he shot just one of eight. He also got involved in an altercation with Clippers guard Terrance Mann. It appeared it started with Mann shoving Oubre and then Oubre proceeding to flex at Mann and he reacted by pushing Oubre again. Surprisingly, the referees gave a double tech to both Oubre and Mann. The Hornets trailed 37-19 after one quarter.

The Clippers really took off in the second quarter as they forced a lot of Hornets turnovers and turned them into baskets. The Clippers lighted it up in the first half from three as they shot 12-25 from three. The Clippers' bench had 28 points in the first half compared to just seven from the Hornets' bench. The Clippers led by as many as 36 in the first half and held a lead of 71-40 at halftime. LaMelo Ball and Kelly Oubre struggled in the first half. LaMelo had 5 turnovers and struggled shooting from the field (5-14 field goal 1-6 3-point). Oubre got in foul trouble with 3 fouls and shot just 1-9 from the field. Gordon Hayward was held scoreless in the first half. The Hornets as a team shot just 26.7% from the field and an ice-cold 12.7% from three on just 2 makes. The Clippers had 5 players with two or more three-pointers (Paul George, Nicholas Batum, Luke Kennard, Reggie Jackson, and Marcus Morris Sr.)

The Hornets had more energy in the second half as they started off with a 13-3 run led by eight points by Mason Plumlee. The Hornets' defense was much better as the Clippers didn't score their first field goal of the second half until the 7:09 mark. Nicholas Batum continued to light up his former team as he hit three-straight threes in the third to give the Clippers an 87-60 lead after the Hornets had got it to 20 points. The Clippers had eight turnovers in the third quarter, but the Clippers still held a 97-74 lead going into the fourth. Jalen McDaniels struggled throughout the night, however, he knocked down a circus one-handed three-pointer to beat the buzzer. The Hornets outscored the Clippers 34-26 in the quarter.

The Hornets tried to make a late fourth-quarter push with LaMelo Ball and Gordon Hayward. They got it all the way to a 14-point game, but that was as close as it got. Jalen McDaniels had a terrific impact defensively and LaMelo Ball had some nice plays in the fourth. Lamelo Ball recorded his first triple-double of the season as he recorded 25 points, 11 rebounds, and 12 assists. Ball's triple-double marks his seventh triple-double of his career, which ties the franchise record for first all-time on the triple-doubles list with Anthony Mason.

Top performers:

LaMelo Ball: 25 points 11 rebounds 12 assists

Mason Plumlee: 18 points 3 rebounds 2 steals

Jalen McDaniels: 16 points 9 rebounds 2 steals

The Hornets will stay in Los Angeles as they take on the Los Angeles Lakers Friday at 10:30 PM EST.

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