Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball was involved in a heated incident on Tuesday night against the Washington Wizards.
Ball drove down the lane for layup and was shoved by Wizards forward Kyshawn George. Ball immediately got up and charged towards George but was held back by teammate Sion James.
George was assessed a Flagrant 1 foul. Hornets forward Miles Bridges was given a technical foul for having words with the Wizards' bench.
The Hornets pulled away from the Wizards in the second half, winning 126-109. Ball had a stellar performance, scoring 23 points on 7/12 shooting, including 4/9 from three. He also had nine assists in 25 minutes.
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Brandon Miller had 20 points and four rebounds for Charlotte, while Kon Knueppel scored 19 points, including five 3-pointers. Moussa Diabate had a breakout performance for the Hornets, who were without centers Ryan Kalkbrenner and Mason Plumlee. Diabate had 12 points, 18 rebounds and did not miss a shot from the field.
George had a forgettable night. He played 31 minutes but scored two points on 1/9 shooting. The Wizards struggled shooting the ball, as they went 10/35 (29%) from three.
Ball, who's missed time this season with ankle and knee injuries, has played well lately. He's averaging 20.8 points and eight assists per night over his past five games.
Charlotte (10-20) is 12th in the Eastern Conference, 4.5 games back of the final play-in spot. The Hornets are looking to snap the NBA's longest active playoff drought. Charlotte returns to action on Friday against the Orlando Magic.
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