Hornets cruise past Pistons in LaMelo Ball’s return
LaMelo Ball #2 of the Charlotte Hornets controls the ball against the Detroit Pistons during the third quarter of their game at Spectrum Center on May 01, 2021 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Grant Halverson/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by GRANT HALVERSON / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
A 13-0 run in the fourth quarter, 29 points from Terry Rozier and the return of LaMelo Ball to the lineup powered the host Charlotte Hornets past the Detroit Pistons 107-94 on Saturday night.
The Hornets (31-32) led most of the game, but a 20-6 Pistons run from the late third into the fourth quarter pulled Detroit within three points.
LaMelo did LaMelo things in his return.
11 PTS
7 REB
8 AST
2 BLK@MELOD1P x #AllFly pic.twitter.com/FhagJs4u0X— NBA (@NBA) May 2, 2021
From there, Charlotte took over.
Rozier scored eight of his game-high 29 during the Hornets’ mid-fourth-quarter run as Charlotte pushed its lead to 16 points.
🐝 The last of @T_Rozzay3's 8 threes in the @hornets win! 🐝 pic.twitter.com/dZBhuNWLRL
— NBA (@NBA) May 2, 2021
Detroit (19-45) cut the margin to seven points with less than two minutes remaining, but Rozier hit two of his eight 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to effectively put the game away.
Charlotte dominated Detroit in fast-break points 23-5 and held the Pistons to 38.5 percent shooting from the field overall.
Bismack Biyombo keyed the defensive effort with five blocked shots, while Cody Martin came away with a career-high-tying four steals. Biyombo also matched teammate Jalen McDaniels with a game-high nine rebounds.
The Hornets also got three blocked shots from P.J. Washington, and two each from Ball and McDaniels.
Ball played a solid all-around game in his return from a wrist injury that had sidelined him since March 20. He finished with 11 points, a game-high eight assists and seven rebounds.
Miles Bridges scored 27 points to go with seven rebounds.
Frank Jackson led Detroit with 25 points and Saddiq Bey added 22. The duo combined for 11 of Detroit’s 13 made 3-pointers.
The Pistons finished 13-of-37 from outside but shot just 22-of-54 from inside the 3-point arc. Killian Hayes, who had 10 points, six rebounds and six assists, shot 4-of-11 from the floor.
Josh Jackson, one of Detroit’s more reliable scorers at 13.6 points per game, went 2-of-10 from the field and finished with five points.
