LaMelo Ball goes off as Hornets dismiss Wizards

LaMelo Ball scored 38 points as part of a triple-double and the Charlotte Hornets rode a huge second half to a 139-113 road victory over the Washington Wizards on Sunday night.

Miles Bridges scored 22 points, while Collin Sexton and Kon Knueppel each tallied 20 points for the Hornets. They overcame an 11-point halftime deficit by scoring 44 points in the third quarter and continued to dominate with another 44 in the fourth quarter, spoiling Washington's home opener.

Sion James pumped in 13 points and Moussa Diabate contributed 12 points and 10 rebounds for Charlotte, which shot 51.1%.

Ball, who shot 13-for-25 from the field with five 3-pointers, had 13 rebounds and 13 assists. The guard's point total was the highest in any of his 11 career triple-doubles. It had been nearly two calendar years since his last triple-double on Nov. 5, 2023.

Charlotte, which shot 12-for-16 on 3-point attempts in the second half, played without starting swingman Brandon Miller, who suffered an upper-body injury a night earlier at Philadelphia.

CJ McCollum's 24 points led the Wizards, while Alex Sarr had 21 points and Tre Johnson came off the bench for 18 points. Khris Middleton (11 points) and Cam Whitmore (10) also reached double figures, but Washington shot 45.1% from the floor and committed 15 turnovers.

The Hornets didn't secure the lead for good until a Ball 3-pointer made it 85-82 with less than three minutes left in the third quarter. Charlotte finished the quarter on an 8-2 run to lead 95-88.

The Hornets produced a 15-2 run in the fourth quarter.

Ball had 23 points by halftime, even though the Wizards led 62-51 at the break. Washington scored the final seven points of the first half.

The Hornets were nearly derailed by 3-for-22 first-half shooting on 3-pointers, but they made it to the free-throw line enough to keep them within range.

Charlotte finished 15-for-38 on 3s, while going 30-for-36 on free throws.