LaMelo Ball delivers late as Hornets fend off Lakers

LaMelo Ball scored 27 points, including a driving layup with 14.2 seconds remaining, as the visiting Charlotte Hornets pulled off a 100-97 victory in a make-up game Wednesday over the Los Angeles Lakers.

Miles Bridges scored 29 points, Nick Smith Jr. had 12 and Mark Williams added 10 points with nine rebounds as the Hornets won in the NBA's first game following the All-Star break. Charlotte, which snapped a three-game skid, was in the Los Angeles area in early January when it had two games postponed because of deadly wildfires.

Ball, a Los Angeles-area native, added six assists with five rebounds while helping to fuel a 23-3 run between the third and fourth quarters. The Hornets won while shooting just 36.3 percent from the floor.

LeBron James scored 26 points with 11 assists and Rui Hachimura had 17 points with eight rebounds as the Lakers lost consecutive games for the first time since Jan. 5-7. James missed a pair of 3-point attempts in the closing seconds that would have tied the game.

Luka Doncic had 14 points with 11 rebounds and eight assists in his third game since he was acquired from the Dallas Mavericks at the trade deadline. Doncic shot 5 of 18 from the floor and 1 of 9 from 3-point range.

Dorian Finney-Smith had 12 points off the bench for Los Angeles, which was without Austin Reaves (eight points) after he was ejected for arguing a non-call in the third quarter. The Lakers led by as many as 13 in the third quarter.

The Lakers led 63-52 with 4:34 remaining in the third before the Hornets went on a 14-2 run to take a 66-65 lead with 1:46 remaining in the period. Included in the stretch was Reaves' ejection.

Charlotte extended the run to 23-3 for a 75-66 lead with 10:53 remaining before Los Angeles fashioned its own rally.

The Lakers led 88-85 with 4:44 remaining before Bridges tied it on a 3-pointer with 4:19 left. The Hornets were up 96-94 when Hachimura missed a pair of free throws for the Lakers with 37 seconds remaining.

Ball's layup with 14 seconds remaining put Charlotte up 98-94 before James made it a one-point game on a 3-pointer with 6.1 seconds left. Ball made two free throws with six seconds left for the final margin.

--Field Level Media