LaMelo Ball says the Hornets are in a 'free-flow state' after beating the Lakers

Charlotte's young core impressed, leading to an 18-point win over the Lakers.

Jan 15, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Charlotte Hornets head coach Charles Lee (left) talks with guard LaMelo Ball (1) against the Los Angeles Lakers in the second half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The entertaining brand of basketball continues for the Charlotte Hornets. On Thursday night, they took down Luka, LeBron, and the Los Angeles Lakers with ease, thanks to a 71-point second half.

The Hornets' starting lineup of LaMelo Ball-Kon Knueppel-Brandon Miller-Miles Bridges-Moussa Diabate proved to be effective and efficient once again. LaMelo led the way with a 30-piece with nine of his ten made field goals coming from beyond the arc. He also dished out eleven assists, creating shots for his running mates, who did their thing too, as Miller finished with 26, Bridges with 19, and Knueppel with 19.

“I feel like the first half, it was definitely some good ones that I just missed, but I don’t know," Ball said following the win. "My teammates were great. I was really just playing, for real. Big ups to the team. We got everybody rebounding hard… Moussa, Kon playing well, B-Mill, so it just makes it that much easier. It’s great. When everybody playing like that, it’s just like a free-flow state, and it just makes all of our jobs easier.”

That starting five has become the secret sauce for the Hornets, winning five of the six games they've started together. If it weren't for the injuries to Ball and Miller at the start of the year, the Hornets would almost certainly be in a much better place right now, record-wise. There's still plenty of time, however, to make up ground and perhaps do more than just stumble into the Play-In tournament. At the very least, the Hornets are playing competitive basketball, and for a team that's been decimated with injuries over the last handful of years, you can't really ask for much more.

The Hornets will be back in action on Saturday evening as they take on Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors. Eric Collins and Dell Curry will bring you that one on FanDuel Sports Network, or you can tune into the radio side, where Sam Farber will have the call on Sports Radio WFNZ. Tip-off is set for 8:30 p.m. ET.

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