The Charlotte Hornets kicked off their post-All-Star break stretch with an exciting, if not emotional, win over the Los Angeles Lakers. A lot of folks likely looked forward to the meeting after the teams were involved in a bewildering trade (or non-trade) at the trade deadline.
The game didn't disappoint, as the Hornets found a way to claw back into the match after falling by as many as 12 points. A 22-1 run spanning the third and fourth quarters allowed them to catch up before a back-and-forth erupted in the closing minutes. LaMelo Ball scored Charlotte's last four points to give it a 100-97 lead. LeBron James then missed a pair of 3-pointers in the final possession.
It was certainly a disappointing outcome for the Lakers, as they entered the contest holding a seven-game home winning streak and hoping to gain some ground in the Western Conference's playoff race. James played well, but newcomer Luka Doncic had an awfully inefficient night, going 5-18 from the field and 1-9 from long distance while turning the ball over six times.
LaMelo Ball shows Lakers' vulnerability
Los Angeles should expect off nights from their superstars from time to time, especially since the new-look squad has yet to establish chemistry. However, when the Lakers' offense doesn't click, they are probably hoping that their defense could carry them to victory.
The Lake Show actually did well on that end of the floor on Wednesday, but Ball caught fire in the fourth quarter, putting up 12 of his 27 points in the period. No one was able to contain him in the clutch, exhibiting why the Lakers committed a couple of mistakes at the trade deadline.
The Purple and Gold deserves praise for swapping the older, injury-prone Anthony Davis for Doncic. What it failed to do, though, was find a point-of-attack defender to take on the assignment of hounding the likes of Ball. It might be too much to ask of Dorian Finney-Smith and Jarred Vanderbilt to cover for the defensive shortcomings of Luka, Austin Reaves, Dalton Knecht, and Gabe Vincent.
An argument can also be made that the Lakers shouldn't have gotten cold feet and should have pushed through with their acquisition of Williams. As the young center said before the matchup, he didn't expect to fail his physical. So, it was either Los Angeles saw something different or realized what it sent the Hornets was too much.
Unfortunately, the reversal of the trade left them with few options to upgrade two key weaknesses: perimeter defense, which the returning Knecht provides little of, and big man depth.
Of course, the Hornets have troubles of their own. But at least they got the better of the organization that gave them one of their problems.