CHARLOTTE Hornets leaned on a huge finishing run to upset Los Angeles Lakers, 100-97, in the 2024-2025 NBA Regular Season on Wednesday night (Thursday in the Philippines) at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California.
Down 83-86 with over five minutes left in the game, the Hornets got inside conversions from LaMelo Ball and Mark Williams and a three-pointer from Miles Bridges as they tied the score at 90-all.
The Hornets took the lead at 93-90 after another triple from Bridges, but the Lakers responded with back-to-back hits from Jaxson Hayes and Luka Doncic to regain the lead for the last time at 94-93.
Charlotte quickly got the lead back at 96-94 on a three-pointer from Nick Smith Jr. Los Angeles had a chance to tie but Rui Hachimura missed on two free throws before the Hornets extended the lead to 98-94 on a layup by Ball with 14 seconds left.
The Lakers made their last push at 97-98 on a three-pointer by LeBron James. The Hornets extended the lead to 100-97 on two free throws by Ball before James missed on a game-tying three-point attempt.
Bridges led the way with 29 points, including five three-point conversions, to go with six rebounds, five steals, and one assist as the Hornets improved to a 14-39 win-loss slate.
Ball added 27 points, six assists, and five rebounds, Smith contributed 12 markers, while Williams and Seth Curry contributed 10 points each for the Hornets.
James top-scored for the Lakers with 26 points, 11 assists, and seven rebounds, Hachimura added 17 markers, while Doncic and Dorian Finney-Smith had 14 and 12, respectively, as they dropped to a 32-21 record./PN
BOX SCORE:
CHARLOTTE 100 — Bridges 29, Ball 27, Smith 12, Curry 10, Williams 10, Jeffries 5, Green 4, Salaun 3, Nurkic 0, Payton 0.
LOS ANGELES 97 — L. James 26, Hachimura 17, Doncic 14, Finney-Smith 12, Reaves 8, Hayes 8, Vincent 6, Knecht 3, Vanderbilt 0, Len 0.
Quarterscores: 21-28, 37-48, 69-66, 100-97.
