LaMelo Ball Returns, Powers Hornets Past Hawks 133–126 With 28 and 13

Overview

• Ball, back from a left ankle bone bruise after three missed games, hit a season-high eight 3-pointers on 10-of-16 shooting and posted 13 assists.
• Charlotte erupted for 80 first-half points and finished 24-of-49 from deep, its second-highest half output of the season and a 49% clip from three.
• Rookie Kon Knueppel scored 28 with multiple threes and seven assists, and Brandon Miller added 26 to balance the offense.
• Atlanta’s Jalen Johnson had 43 points and 11 rebounds, underscoring defensive lapses that the Hornets struggled to clean up.
• The Hornets improved to 9-18 with their second straight win and are 5-4 in their last nine, as Ball’s intermittent availability and reported trade chatter remain background storylines.