LaMelo Ball, debutant Charlotte Hornets, leaves for a big night against the Houston Rockets

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You have a LaMelo ball on Monday night.

The Charlotte Hornets starting goalie tied the team records, had some amazing assists and buried a season high, seven with 3 points in Hornets’ 119-94 victory over the Houston Rockets. The effort also helped slow the Rockets, who have won four of their last five double-digit road games.

“I stepped on the field. No warm-up, nothing,” Ball said in a post-game interview on NBA TV. “It was still cool.”

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Ball is the third player, aged 19 or under, to record 20 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists, with LeBron James and Luka Doncic joining. Pretty good company.

Ball finished with 24 points, 10 assists and 7 rebounds and did so in a variety of fun ways.

Shooting 3s

Ball tied his career with four 3s in the first half on Monday night. He finished with seven triples. That equaled the Hornets rookie record. For comparison, LaMelo Ball scored 45 of 3 in 25 games. At the same time in his career, Lonzo, LaMelo’s older brother, turned 25.

According to ESPN Stats & Info, Ball has averaged 22.6 PPG in his last five games (all starts), compared to 12.2 PPG in his first 20 games, in which he came off the bench in every game.

Assistance and passage

On Monday, Ball had 10 assists, one of 11 in his career, twice this season.

Along with his performance, Ball is the youngest player in NBA history to record a game with 20 points, 10 assists and at least 5 triples.

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