LaMelo Ball leads Hornets past Trail Blazers
LaMelo Ball #2 of the Charlotte Hornets reacts after making a shot against the Portland Trail Blazers during the fourth quarter during their game at Spectrum Center on October 31, 2021 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Jacob Kupferman / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
LaMelo Ball scored 27 points and Kelly Oubre Jr. added 26 off the bench to lift the host Charlotte Hornets to a 125-113 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday.
Ball also had nine rebounds and seven assists to highlight a performance that was in stark contrast to his previous two games. The reigning NBA Rookie of the Year totaled just 13 points on 5-of-28 shooting from the floor in a win over Orlando on Wednesday and a loss to Miami on Friday.
Oubre made six 3-pointers and Ball and a returning Terry Rozier each sank four for Charlotte, which made 20 of 42 shots from beyond the arc (47.6 percent). Rozier had missed the previous four games with a sprained ankle.
LaMelo Ball & Kelly Oubre Jr. stuff the stat sheet in the @hornets win!@MELOD1P: 27p/9r/7a@KELLYOUBREJR: 26p/7r/5a pic.twitter.com/z76VPw1Mqj
— NBA (@NBA) November 1, 2021
C.J. McCollum scored 25 points and Anfernee Simons added 19 off the bench for the Trail Blazers, who saw their modest two-game winning streak come to a halt.
Damian Lillard collected 14 points and 12 assists, while Jusuf Nurkic had 13 points and 14 rebounds in a losing effort.
Portland’s Cody Zeller scored six points in his first game in Charlotte as an opposing player. He spent his first eight seasons with the Hornets after being selected by the club with the fourth overall pick of the 2013 NBA Draft.
Charlotte held an 89-88 lead after three quarters before starting off fast in the fourth. Oubre drained a pair of 3-pointers and added a dunk to highlight the Hornets’ 18-9 run.
Lillard sank a 3-pointer to trim Charlotte’s lead to 114-108 with 3:52 to play, however, P.J. Washington scored from in close and Oubre made a 3-pointer to effectively seal the win.
Portland held a 67-59 lead early in the third quarter before Rozier sank a pair of 3-pointers to highlight a 21-7 run by Charlotte. Washington capped that surge with a 3-pointer to give the Hornets an 80-74 lead.
Rozier started fast by draining two 3-pointers and two foul shots to help Charlotte post a 17-12 lead just five minutes into the game.
