GAMENOTES: Regular Season Game #43 Charlotte Hornets (12-30) vs. Los Angeles Lakers (25-18) - January 27th, 2025

Hornets start slow. Bench shows fight. LaMelo goes down with another injury. Time is a flat circle.

FINAL

Charlotte Hornets 107 (12-31) - Los Angeles Lakers 112 (26-18)

THE BOXSCORE

WHY DID THEY LOSE? (AND OTHER IMPORTANT STORIES)

• The Lakers jumped on the Hornets early with a 26-5 run to open the game led by Anthony Davis (42-23-2). Davis finished the 1st quarter with 21 points and 11 rebounds, a decent game total for 95% of players. But the Hornets bench slowly brought the Hornets back within ten led by Josh Okogie (19-2-2) who continues to impress with his aggressive defense at the point of attack, his ability to generate turnovers (4 steals, 8 fast break points) and his shotmaking. The Lakers played with their food a little too much and allowed Miles Bridges (26-8-4) to drive at will. He really led the team in the absence of LaMelo Ball who left the game in the 2nd with a sprained ankle. But the 20 point 1Q hole was just a little too big. AD and LeBron made enough plays down the stretch to seal it for the Lakers.

• LaMelo Ball sprained his left ankle in the 2nd quarter when he stepped on the foot of Jarred Vanderbilt. He did not return to the game.

  • Add this to an all-too-long list of ankle injuries

    • He sprained his left ankle in the preseason of the 22-23 season and re-injured it twice that season costing him 24 of the 1st 27 games.

    • He returned and played 14 games before fracturing his right ankle which required surgery.

    • He played 14 games of the 23-24 season before injuring his right ankle again. he tried to return to play but the ankle kept giving him trouble and they shut him all the way down.

  • This season he began to wear ankle braces which hopefully will limit whatever damage was done here. We’ll have any updates on Locked On Hornets tomorrow.

• Hornets shot 39% from 3 despite being without LaMelo for most of the game. They scored 28 points off turnovers, 12 of those in a 4th quarter charge that got them back into the game.

• Hornets bench outscored LA 44-15.

• Lakers are weird. They can look like world beaters one quarter and then get beaten to death the next.

• Good for the Hornets not rolling over in the first locally televised game in a decade. This was Hornets DNA and the culture that Lee and JP are trying to build on display.

• Mark Williams (11-8-5) got tortured by AD at every level. Rebounding, scoring in the paint, scoring ISO in the midrange, beating him back in transition, pushing Mark out of his comfort zone offensively. He wasn’t physical or aggressive to start the game and he admitted as much after the game. He did have a career high in assists with 5, so there’s that.

NEWS AND NOTES

• This was the first game since the 07-08 season to be broadcast on local television. It was the 1st of 5 games to be simulcast on WSOC/WAXN and Fanduel Sports Network.