LaMelo Ball had his best game of the preseason for the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday night on the road against the Orlando Magic. Ball found his shot from range, hitting four of his nine 3-point attempts after making just two during his first two games.
In total, Ball finished with 18 points on 7-of-17 shooting. He added five assists, two on alley-oops to Miles Bridges. One of those came during his best stretch of the game: He knocked down a 3-pointer and then turned a fast break into a one-handed lob to Bridges.
Ball also had two rebounds and a steal. Charlotte came away victorious 123-115. Terry Rozier was the team’s leading scorer with 20 points and Devonte’ Graham had 18.
After the game, Ball drew praise from both his head coach, who called him a “major contributor” to the Hornets, and from former NBA superstar Dwyane Wade on Twitter.
