WASHINGTON (AP) — LaMelo Ball had 38 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists for his 11th career triple-double, and the Charlotte Hornets erased a double-digit halftime deficit Sunday night to defeat the Washington Wizards 139-113.
Kon Knueppel, the No. 4 pick in June’s draft, collected 11 of his 20 points during Charlotte’s third-quarter push and Miles Bridges scored 22 points as the Hornets snapped a five-game skid against Washington. Collin Sexton added 20 for Charlotte.
The Hornets shot 67.4% in the second half, including 12 of 16 from 3-point range.
CJ McCollum scored 24 points and Alex Sarr had 17 of his 21 points in the first half for the Wizards, who received a smattering of boos at the end of their home opener.
Washington took a 62-51 halftime lead when Sarr hit a 22-footer at the buzzer to establish the first double-digit lead for either team. The Wizards briefly pushed their advantage, but Charlotte quickly got the margin back to single digits before gradually wearing down Washington’s defense.
Ball’s 3-pointer to make it 85-82 gave Charlotte the lead for good, and rookie Sion James hit consecutive 3s to make it 93-86 and cap a 19-4 run. James scored all 13 of his points in the second half.
Ball assisted on Bridges’ 3-pointer with 7:52 remaining to make it 110-100 and complete his first triple-double since Nov. 5, 2023.
Charlotte outscored the Wizards 44-25 in the fourth quarter.
Washington’s Tre Johnson, the No. 6 overall pick in June’s draft, had 18 points in his home debut.
Kyshawn George, coming off a career-high 34 points in Friday’s 117-107 victory at Dallas, had six points for the Wizards.
Charlotte guard Brandon Miller sat out after leaving Saturday’s loss at Philadelphia with a shoulder injury.
Hornets: Visit Miami on Tuesday
Wizards: Host Philadelphia on Tuesday
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Murder for Two Read moreMurder For Two
Kicks or Treats: Dance for Free Week at CY Danceworks! Read moreKicks or Treats Dance for Free Week at CY Danceworks
cube_corner said:
+1
LittleFoot said:
LittleFoot said:
In short - learning difficult and refined things makes you a better person.
LittleFoot said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.