Ball, Bridges Score 23 Each, Charlotte Wins Three Straight

By Matt Rochinski

Make it three-straight victories for the Hornets! Charlotte got a complete team effort in a Martin Luther King Jr. Day matinee on Monday led by LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges with 23 points apiece on the Hornets way to a 110-105 win at Spectrum Center. Charlotte has now won four of its last five contests to move to 11-28 overall and 7-13 on its home court.

Top Performers

The Hornets version of Air B&B set the tone for the Hornets against Dallas. Ball finished with 23 points on 8-of-21 (38.1 percent) shooting from the field, including 5-of-10 (50.0 percent) from outside the arc. Ball rang up 20 points and five treys in the first half, the seventh time in his career achieving those number in a half. Only Terry Rozier (12) and Kemba Walker (10) have more such halves for the Hornets since at least 1996-97. Ball also flirted with a triple-double, handing out nine assists and grabbing seven rebounds. On defense, he also grabbed one steal and blocked one shot, while often drawing Kyrie Irving on the defensive end.

Bridges also finished with 23 points, going 8-of-15 (53.3 percent) from the field and 4-of-7 (57.1 percent) from distance. Bridges is shooting 15-of-30 (50.0 percent) from 3 over his last five games following today’s performance. He also hauled down five rebounds, handed out two assists and blocked a shot in 32 minutes of action.

Irving paced the Mavericks with a game-high 33 points on 11-of-24 shooting from the field, 3-of-8 from outside the arc and 8-of-9 from the charity stripe. He added four rebounds, three assists and three steals in the losing effort. Daniel Gafford followed with a career-high 31 points on 12-of-15 shooting from the field and a perfect 7-of-7 at the line. He also notched a game-high 15 rebounds.

Turning Point

In a game of multiple runs that could have proven to be the turning point, the final 4:54 would eventually determine the final outcome of the contest. Tied 102-102 at that point, Mark Williams had the chance to put the Hornets up, but his dunk was blocked by Gafford. Josh Green was able to secure the loose ball and find Nick Smith Jr. for a right corner three-pointer that gave him a season-high 19 points and the Hornets a 105-102 lead in the contest. After back-to-back empty possessions from both teams, Irving hit a free throw before Williams got a soaring, two-handed dunk on Charlotte’s next possession on a nice feed from Ball to go up, 107-103. Gafford would pull the Mavs to within 107-105, but when Bridges attempted trey got stuck between the backboard and rim with 1:06 remaining, it appeared to give Dallas hope. Although Williams won the tip, Ball was unable to connect on a floater with 44.2 ticks remaining but did hit on one of two free throws, giving Dallas a final chance. Naji Marshall got the look for the Mavs, but his shot from outside the arc on the right baseline wouldn’t fall. Josh Green added two more free throws to secure the homecourt win!

Nick Stays on Heater

Nick Smith Jr. continues to elevate his game for the Hornets to start 2025. After an 18-point performance on January 5 in Cleveland, Smith had back-to-back games with eight points. He didn’t score in 16 minutes against Utah after that, but when Brandon Miller went down with a wrist injury against the Jazz, it’s been Smith who stepped up the next two contests. He had 15 points in  Friday’s win in Chicago and followed it up with his season-high 19 on Monday against the Mavs. After averaging just 4.2 points on 33.3 percent shooting from the field and 30.8 percent from outside the arc in December, Smith has pushed that average to 8.7 points on 40.8 percent shooting from the field and 41.4 percent shooting from long range in January.

Inside Adjustment

Charlotte opened the game connecting on just 1-of-8 shots from the field (12.5 percent), including 1-of-4 (25.0 percent from long range as the Mavericks built a 7-3 lead at the nine-minute mark. The Hornets changed up their offensive attack to get back on track against the Mavs with a 10-3 run of their own to help prevent this one from getting away early. Instead of looking for outside options, Charlotte took it to Dallas in the paint, going to the rim on five of their next six possessions behind four points from LaMelo Ball and three more from Miles Bridges, giving the Hornets an 8-0 advantage in the paint. Unfortunately Mark Williams had to sit at the 6:23 mark of the first after picking up his second foul early in the first, and the Mavs would flip-flop the paint advantage, outscoring the Hornets 14-2 the rest of the way to take a 27-24 first quarter lead. Williams returned with force in the second half and did not pick up a foul in the game’s last 48 minutes. He finished with his fourth-straight double-double of the season (13 points and 13 rebounds, including a season-high tying seven offensive boards. The run of four-straight double-doubles ties the longest streak in Williams’ career (April 2-October 5, 2023).

Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The NBA does a tremendous job of honoring the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This year, the Hornets were the first of eight games to be played on MLK Jr. Day. It was an honor Head Coach Charles Lee fully embraced.

“I think it's very special (to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy) and something that we definitely can't take for granted as we continue to kind of carry out Dr. King's message of peace, equality and community - that is what the game of basketball hopefully brings about, too,” Lee said in his pregame media availability. I think that it always brings people together - different communities, different ethnicities, different socioeconomic backgrounds, whatever it may be. It’s an effort to try to bring us all together, so, I appreciate and am grateful that we get to play on this day of day and continue to honor Dr. King”. 

Postgame Quote

“I’ll start with props to the guys because I agree with you that the fight is there, the ability to have flexibility, everyone being ready for their moment and their opportunity. It was cool to see. Mark [Williams] gets into early foul trouble. I thought it was a good learning experience for him to try to learn how to play in foul trouble. Unfortunately he picked up a couple cheapies, but I thought Moussa [Diabate] came in and responded and got us a couple offensive rebounds. We were able to switch up coverages at that point and switch a little bit more. He did a really good job of guarding the ball. It’s good to see Josh [Okogie] coming in and joining the team. I thought he had a couple moments here and there that he either helped us defensively or offensively. Miles [Bridges], Nick Smith, LaMelo [Ball] – it was a great team effort. At every moment, people had to step up to the plate, and they did a really good job of responding.”

Hornets Head Coach Charles Lee

What’s Next?

The Hornets hit the road for a brief, one-game stop at 8 PM on Wednesday in Memphis. Watch on the FanDuel Sports Network and listen on WFNZ 92.7 FM or on the Hornets App.

Historic Homestand Upcoming

The Hornets will begin a historic, nine-game homestand at Spectrum Center this weekend when they host Portland at 7PM on Friday and follow that with a 7PM tipoff on Saturday against New Orleans.