Miles Bridges paces double-figure scoring surge, as Hornets rout Pelicans

Miles Bridges scored 26 points to lead 7 Charlotte scorers in double figures as the hot-shooting Hornets defeated the host New Orleans Pelicans 142-120 on Friday night.

Terry Rozier added 25 points, LaMelo Ball 17, Montrezl Harrell 16, Cody Martin 15, Isaiah Thomas 14 and Kelly Oubre Jr. 10 for the Hornets, who shot 59.8 percent from the floor, including 46.8 percent on 3-pointers. They had 41 assists on 52 field goals.

Charlotte had won just three of its previous 10 games but took command by outscoring New Orleans 42-27 in the 3rd quarter.

For New Orleans, rookie Trey Murphy III had season-highs of 32 points (making seven 3-pointers) and 9 rebounds, Devonte' Graham scored 19 points, Willy Hernangomez added 15, Naji Marshall 14, Jaxson Hayes 13, Herbert Jones 12 and Jonas Valanciunas 10 to lead the short-handed Pelicans, who lost their 4th consecutive game.

New Orleans played its 3rd consecutive game without leading scorer Brandon Ingram, who is sidelined by a hamstring strain. Second-leading scorer CJ McCollum, who had scored 32 points in each of the first 2 games that Ingram missed, also was sidelined after entering the health and safety protocol Thursday.

The Hornets began the 3rd quarter with a 16-4 run to open a 77-59 lead with 8:57 left in the period.

The Pelicans got within 14 points on Murphy's 3-pointer midway through the quarter, but Rozier made a 3-pointer and Oubre two 3-pointers as Charlotte expanded its lead to 103-82 at the end of the period.

The score was tied four times and the lead changed hands four times during the first quarter. Ball's free throw broke the final tie and gave the Hornets a 25-24 lead at the end of the period.

The second quarter featured 10 lead changes and two ties before Harrell's 3-point play broke the final tie and started a 10-0 Charlotte run.

Hayes scored the Pelicans' final six points to trim the Hornets' lead to 61-55 at halftime.

-reuters-

NBA: Miles Bridges helps Hornets edge Warriors

Miles Bridges scored 22 points and LaMelo Ball had 21 as the Charlotte Hornets edged the visiting Golden State Warriors 106-102 on Sunday night.

The big contribution came from Terry Rozier, who scored all 20 of his points in the second half as the Hornets stretched their winning streak to three games.

The Warriors, who lost for just the second time in 13 games, had a seven-game winning streak snapped. They're 3-1 in road games.

Andrew Wiggins poured in 28 points and Stephon Curry, playing in his hometown, had 24 points for the Warriors. Jordan Poole added 13 points and Draymond Green 11. Curry was just 3-for-13 on 3-pointers.

There were 27 lead changes in the game.

Rozier's 3-point play put the Hornets up 102-98 with 2:24 left. The Warriors scored the next two baskets, with Green's dunk tying the game at the 44-second mark.

Bridges put Charlotte back in front on the next possession. Golden State's Kevin Looney then missed two foul shots.

Rozier countered with two free throws for the game's final points.

Cody Martin and Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 12 and 10 points, respectively, off the bench for Charlotte.

It was a close game throughout. In the second half, the margin never was wider than four points -- and that happened just three times (once in the third quarter and twice down the stretch in the fourth quarter).

Charlotte's 47-41 lead marked the widest margin for either team.

The teams were tied at 63, 65, 68, 70, 74 and 77, all in the third quarter.

Then the Hornets went a stretch of more than three minutes with just one field goal, but launched into the lead at 81-80 on Bridges' basket.

Curry's second 3 in the final 70 seconds of the third quarter put the Warriors up 88-87 going to the fourth.

Fittingly, the score was 57-57 at halftime. Ball had 19 points by the break, hitting four 3-pointers.

The Warriors shot just 6-for-21 on 3s in the first half.

-reuters-

NBA: Hornets sign top picks Ball, Carey among several moves

The Charlotte Hornets have signed their first- and second-round draft picks, LaMelo Ball and Vernon Carey Jr., the team announced on Monday night.

In a flurry of moves, the team also announced the signings of second-round selection, Grant Riller, and Nick Richards, who was drafted in the second round by New Orleans and sent to Charlotte in a trade.

In addition, the Hornets re-signed nine-year veteran Bismack Biyombo and signed undrafted free agent Nate Darling.

The moves come one day after acquiring star swingman Gordon Hayward from the Boston Celtics in a sign-and-trade.

The 19-year-old Ball, younger brother of New Orleans Pelicans guard Lonzo Ball, was taken third overall in the draft.

Ball played 12 games for the Illawarra Hawks in Australia's National Basketball League last season. His season ended early with a foot injury, but Ball averaged 17 points, 7.5 rebounds and seven assists 1.7 steals a game.

The Hornets did not announce terms of the signing, but Spotrac.com says the 6-foot-7 Ball will make just over $7.8 million next season from being selected third overall.

He is guaranteed two years and $16 million, according to the website.

The 19-year-old Carey, a 6-foot-10 center, played one season at Duke, earning second team All-America honors for averaging 17.8 points and 8.8 rebounds. He led the ACC by shooting 57.7 percent from the field and was third in the conference in scoring.

Carey was drafted 32nd overall.

The 6-8 Biyombo played in 53 games for Charlotte last season, starting 29. He averaged 7.4 points and 5.8 rebounds in 19.4 minutes per game.

A nine-year veteran, Biyombo has played the last two seasons for the Hornets, his third NBA team. He was drafted by the Sacramento Kings in the first round (seventh overall) in 2011.

He landed with the then-Charlotte Bobcats on draft day and spent four seasons with the Bobcats-Hornets before spending a season with the Toronto Raptors and two with the Orlando Magic.

Charlotte drafted Riller with the 56th overall pick out of the College of Charleston. The 6-3 guard averaged 18.7 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 132 games.

The Pelicans chose Richards 42nd overall and dealt him to the Hornets for a 2024 second-round pick.

The 6-11 Richards played three seasons at Kentucky. Last season, the All-SEC First Team and All-Defensive Team selection averaged 14 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.1 blocks in 29.7 minutes in 31 games played.

His 62.8 percent shooting percentage was third in school history.

Darling, a 6-5 guard, played two seasons at UAB and one at Delaware last season. Voted to the Colonial Athletic Association's first team, he averaged 21 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 2.8 assists in 38.2 minutes per game as a season-long starter.

-reuters-

NBA: Ball brothers set to sign with Roc Nation Sports -- report

The basketball-playing Ball brothers reportedly have new representation.

Jermaine Jackson, the manager of NBA draft prospect LaMelo Ball, told ESPN on Monday that LaMelo, Lonzo and LiAngelo Ball all reached agreements to join Roc Nation Sports, the agency overseen by media mogul Jay-Z.

"This was a family decision," Jackson, a former NBA player, told ESPN. "This is now an extended family. They put together a beautiful game plan with Jay-Z. The basketball game is about to change. They are going to create something totally new."

Roc Nation's Raymond Brothers will serve as the main agent for the Ball brothers, according to Jackson.

"We talked to several agents, but the family had good vibes with Roc Nation," Jackson told ESPN. "I've known Jay-Z since I played for the Knicks, but this is what the kids wanted to do. Jay-Z is a master at what he does. He's global. It's power beyond power.

The Ball brothers were represented by Creative Artists Agency before leaving the company last month, per multiple media reports. The move followed agent Leon Rose's exit from CAA to become the New York Knicks' president.

Depending upon the denouement of the NBA season, which is currently suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Knicks could have a shot at drafting LaMelo Ball, 18. ESPN and NBAdraft.net both list the youngest Ball brother as the No. 2 prospect for this year's draft.

LaMelo Ball left Chino Hills (Calif.) High School after his sophomore season, and he spent the past two years playing professionally in Lithuania and Australia in addition to competing for the Los Angeles Ballers of the Junior Basketball Association, which was founded by his father, LaVar.

"Right now Melo is focused on the weight room and working on his game training with LaVar," Jackson told ESPN. "His father is doing a phenomenal job. He already put seven pounds of muscle on him. He's working out with Lonzo and (LiAngelo) trying to get ready for whatever comes next. He's grown half an inch in the last few months."

Lonzo Ball, 22, is in the middle of his third NBA season, his first with the New Orleans Pelicans. He is averaging a career-high 12.4 points to go along with 6.2 rebounds, seven assists and 1.45 steals per game.

He played the previous two seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers, who selected him second overall in the 2017, before he was dealt to New Orleans in the Anthony Davis trade.

LiAngelo Ball, 21, had a brief stint at UCLA before playing in Lithuania and with the Los Angeles Ballers. Most recently, he was on the roster of the Oklahoma City Blue but had yet to get into a game with the G League team when play was halted due to the pandemic.

Field Level Media/Reuters

LaMelo Ball likely headed to China or Australia -- report

LaMelo Ball, the youngest of the three basketball-playing Ball brothers, likely will play professionally in China or Australia before entering his name in the 2020 NBA Draft.

That's according to a SLAM Magazine feature story on Ball, who played his senior season at the Spire Institute in Ohio.

That could change if the NCAA gives the OK to allow him to play in college, but he already has played professionally -- even though his family contends he wasn't paid.

His father, LaVar Ball, pulled him out of Chino Hills (Calif.) High School in October 2017, expressing he could better prepare him for an NBA career than school could. 

The elder Ball took sons LaMelo and LiAngelo to play in Lithuania, and they also played in the Junior Basketball Association.

Their older brother, Lonzo, was the No. 2 overall selection in the 2017 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers.

The 6-foot-6 LaMelo, a guard, is projected as anywhere from the 12th to the 33rd selection in 2020 NBA mock drafts.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Ball brothers combine for 29 in Lithuania debut

LiAngelo and LaMelo Ball combined to score 29 points in their professional basketball debut for Lithuanian club Prienai Vytautas on Tuesday.

LiAngelo, 19, started and scored 19 points on 8-of-19 shooting, while younger brother LaMelo, 16, had 10 points and nine assists but turned the ball over six times.

LaMelo finished 4-for-10 from the field, and Prienai Vytautas beat Zalgiris' second division team 90-80 in front of a crowd of about 1,500 people, including the boys' father, LaVar Ball, and his wife, Tina.

Vytautas recently formed the Big Baller Brand Challenge, a series of five "friendly" games to welcome the brothers to the team. Vytautas normally plays in both the Lithuanian and Baltic leagues, with the Baltic featuring lower-level competition.

  
However, soon after the boys joined the team, Vytautas withdrew from the Baltic league.

Last week, LaVar Ball predicted that all three of his sons would be playing for the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020, the year LaMelo would be eligible for the NBA draft.
The oldest Ball brother, Lonzo, is currently a rookie with the Lakers, and LiAngelo is draft-eligible this year. As LaVar told the reporter he spoke to, "'Gelo will be (a Laker) this year."

Those comments came before LaVar made waves in the Lakers organization by criticizing head coach Luke Walton, telling ESPN the 37-year-old has lost the team.

"You can see they're not playing for Luke no more," Ball told ESPN. "Luke doesn't have control of the team no more. They don't want to play for him.

"Nobody wants to play for him. I can see it. No high-fives when they come out of the game. People don't know why they're in the game. He's too young. He's too young. ... He ain't connecting with them anymore. You can look at every player, he's not connecting with not one player."

In the wake of his remarks regarding Walton, LaVar has drawn a good deal of criticism, including from NBA legend Reggie Miller, who told the Dan Patrick Show on Tuesday that Lakers GM Magic Johnson should step up to LaVar and threaten to trade Lonzo if the father doesn't tone it down.

"This is a chance for Magic Johnson to absolutely put his foot down and put an end to this," Miller said. "He could really destroy LaVar if he really wanted to. I would go close to almost threatening, 'If you keep opening your mouth ... we are going to trade your son from the Lakers.'

"I hope (LaVar is) enjoying his European vacation, and his sons are enjoying playing over in Lithuania, because those two, in my opinion, have no shot at playing in the NBA."

Vytautas' next game is Saturday night in a Lithuanian league contest at Lietkabelis that counts in the standings. That said, it's unclear how much playing time LiAngelo and LaMelo will receive.

source: news.abs-cbn.com