Charlotte Hornets 118-110 New Orleans Pelicans: LaMelo Ball's near triple-double against his brother, Lonzo, sends Twitter into a frenzy
Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans could not hang onto their 12-point halftime lead against LaMelo Ball and the Charlotte Hornets, losing 118-110. The Pelicans are on a three-game losing streak heading into a challenging four-game road trip.
The Hornets were lead by Gordan Hayward's 26 points, followed by Miles Bridges scoring 20 off the bench. However, the talk of the show was LaMelo Ball coming one assist shy of becoming the youngest player in the NBA to record a triple-double.
The New Orleans Pelicans put up a good fight and will be disappointed in their second-half play, losing the 12-point lead they had going into halftime. Zion Williamson ended the game as the leading scorer with 26 points, and Brandon Ingram had 17 on a poor shooting night, going 3-for-11 from the field.
Zion Williamson was aggressive for three quarters but came up short for the New Orleans Pelicans
In a Pelicans game where Zion Willamson was not the biggest talking point heading into the game, due to the Lonzo and LaMelo Ball matchup, he started the game aggressively, scoring eight points inside the paint in the first quarter.ย
However, the Duke alum could not lead his team to a win, losing the lead with under five minutes to go in the fourth as the Charlotte Hornets won their second straight.
Zion Williamson showed his explosive play all night, reminding us why the NBA decided to put the New Orleans Pelicans on 19 nationally broadcasted games.
Zion walked away with the high school win, but LaMelo Ball got his revenge in their first NBA matchup.
Zion Williamson showed many signs of brilliance in the game against the Charlotte Hornets but will need to continue to improve his defensive reads to reach the next step in the NBA, as the New Orleans Pelicans fall to 4-5, despite his 26-point performance.
LaMelo Ball and the Charlotte Hornets win the first of many Ball Brother matchups.
This was the first time the two Ball brothers went against each other, as they are used to playing on the same team as they did at Chino Hills High School in 2015-16.
Both of the brothers shot the ball poorly tonight, going a combined 6-of-19 from the field, but LaMelo Ball had the better game finishing with 12 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists, compared to Lonzo Ball's five points, two rebounds, and three assists.
Lonzo and LaMelo Ball are the first brothers ever to be drafted in the top-5. Lonzo was drafted 2nd overall by the LA Lakers in 2017, and LaMelo went 3rd to the Charlotte Hornets in this year's NBA draft.
LaMelo Ball drilled a three in his brother's face tonight. The last time we saw these two go at it against each other was in their parents' backyard, where LaMelo crossed up his Lonzo in a brotherly game of one-on-one.
There still might be a chance for us to see all three Ball brothers in the NBA as LiAngelo Ball will be suiting up in the NBA G League this season.
Although the two brothers both struggled to get it going from the field tonight, LaMelo Ball earned the bragging rights with a Charlotte Hornets' win and the better stat line in the brother's first NBA game against each other.
It was a great moment for the Ball family and a great moment for the league, having another talented brother duo in the NBA.