The Charlotte Hornets had won six straight games for the first time in a decade. They wouldn’t let a blizzard, a 22-point deficit or their star’s bleeding face keep them from running their streak to seven.
LaMelo Ball came back from a head-to-head collision to score 24 points as the Hornets defeated the New Orleans Pelicans, 102-95, on a rare Monday afternoon game. The Hornets started slow after snowstorms forced an early start to the game, but recovered to notch their longest win streak since 2016, the last season the Hornets made the playoffs.
LaMelo Ball rallied after colliding with his coach
The Hornets started fast, jumping out to a 7-0 lead while their defense forced the Pelicans into five straight misses. But disaster struck less than three minutes into the game when Ball hustled for a loose ball only to collide with an unlikely competitor: His own coach.
Hornets head coach Charles Lee was reaching for Miles Bridges’ errant pass, unaware that his point guard was lunging in the same direction. The result was an ugly collision that opened up a cut on Ball’s eye and kept him out for most of the quarter, as the Pelicans went on a 15-6 run.