CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — LaMelo Ball was so excited after delivering a knockout blow to the Miami Heat in Tuesday night’s electric 127-126 play-in tournament win that he carried it over to his victory celebration, delivering two right-hand jabs to the oversized head of Hugo, the Charlotte Hornets’ mascot.
In a wild sequence, Ball avenged two critical mistakes just seconds earlier by scoring on a driving right-handed layup with 4.7 seconds left, and Charlotte
prevailed after Miles Bridges blocked Davion Mitchell’s layup attempt on the other of the court as time expired. That set off a wild celebration on the court involving players, coaches and fans as the team earned its first home playoff win in a decade.
Ball was seen celebrating midcourt and flexing after the shot, but it was local television station WBTV that caught video of an elated Ball delivering two punches at Hugo before embracing Coby White in a bear hug.
Hugo simply walked away.
“We drew up a good play, I feel like. Just orchestrated it and it worked," Ball said.
Ball was not asked about punching the mascot after the game; the video of it had not surfaced at that point amid all the confusion in a game in which Ball tripped Heat star Bam Adebayo, who injured his lower back and was knocked out of the game.
“The crowd was amazing," Ball said of the sold-out crowd. "Everyone who came out today was real loud, so it was a good crowd.”
The Hornets were able to get to overtime after White hit an off-balanced 3-pointer from the corner with 10.8 seconds left to tie the game, and Miami's Tyler Herro missed a jumper at the end of regulation.
The Hornets surrendered a five-point lead in OT behind two Ball blunders.
Afte Herro drained a turnaround 3 in the corner, Ball turned the ball over at midcourt and then fouled Herro on a 3-point shot attempt. Herro made all three free throws to give Miami a 126-125 lead, setting up Ball's theatrics on an inbounds play.
“We just stayed together throughout it all, it was an up-and-down game. But that’s what the play-in is about," Bridges said. "... We did a great job executing on offense, LaMelo did a great job getting a layup, and then we executed on defense on the other end.”
Ball was the center of attention all night.
He appeared the swipe Adebayo's leg early in the second quarter, causing the Miami center to fall on his back. Ball was not called for a foul and Adebayo did not return, playing just 11 minutes.
Afterward Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said Ball should have been ejected.
It's unclear if Ball will face any disciplinary action from the league for his role in the Adebayo incident.
Ball apologized after the game and said he was disoriented on the play after getting hit in the head seconds before on a drive to the basket.
The ninth-seeded Hornets will play Friday night against the loser of Wednesday's night game between Orlando and Philadelphia.
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