LaMelo Ball, Hornets continue strong stretch, roll past Grizzlies
LaMelo Ball's 29 points led to another big offensive output for the Charlotte Hornets in their 124-101 victory against the visiting Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday night.
Brandon Miller poured in 22 points for the Hornets (37-34), who have won five of their last six games. Charlotte also received contributions from Miles Bridges with 13 points, Coby White with 12 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in 19 minutes off the bench, Moussa Diabate with 11 points and 14 rebounds and Ryan Kalkbrenner with 10 points.
GG Jackson led Memphis with 19 points, while Javon Small provided 17 points and a team-high seven rebounds, Taylor Hendricks had 14 points and Walter Clayton Jr. notched 11 points.
The Grizzlies (24-46), who didn't have a double-figure scorer in the first half, have lost 10 of their last 11 games.
Led by Ball with seven 3-pointers and Miller with five 3s, the Hornets made 18 shots and shot 41.9% from beyond the arc even with usual-sharpshooter rookie Kon Knueppel going 1-for-6 from deep.
Knueppel was the only Charlotte starter who didn't shoot better than 47.4% from the field, with Bridges, Diabate and Miller combining to make 19 of 26 shots. The shooting issues for the Hornets popped up at the free-throw line, where they were 16-for-24.
The Grizzlies had widespread 3-point production with four players each hitting three 3s. Still, Memphis fell to 11-24 in road games.
Charlotte handled business on the boards with a 49-34 rebounding edge. Six of Diabate's rebounds came at the offensive end. That helped the Hornets overcome 18 turnovers.
The Hornets have won three straight to begin a seven-game homestand, putting together some huge second-half production in doing so. Ball has led Charlotte in scoring in two of the last three games.
The Hornets built a 59-47 halftime lead and took a 22-point margin into the fourth quarter.
Cedric Coward, normally a starter for Memphis, missed his second game in a row because of personal reasons.