LaMelo Ball fractures ankle in Hornets’ win over Pistons

LaMelo Ball made six 3-pointers earlier than breaking his proper ankle within the third quarter, and the Charlotte Hornets held on to beat the Detroit Pistons 117-106 on Monday evening for his or her fifth straight victory.

Ball completed with 18 factors on 6-for-7 taking pictures from 3-point vary, his fifth straight sport making not less than 5 3s. He was damage on a non-contact play within the third, and the Hornets introduced after the sport that X-rays revealed a fracture to his proper ankle.

Gordon Hayward stated Charlotte’s gamers didn’t discover out in regards to the severity of the damage till after the sport, with most of them figuring Ball had simply tweaked one thing.

“It’s certainly disappointing because he’s a major part of our team and we felt like we were rounding the corner,” Hayward stated.

Ball’s different ankle has been bothersome this season — he’s sprained his left ankle thrice, limiting him to 36 video games.

This time, he damage his proper ankle as he was dribbling and making an attempt to make a transfer close to half courtroom. Ball fell down, however managed to stop the ball from going out of bounds. He left the sport and didn’t return.

Hornets coach Steve Clifford didn’t say how lengthy Ball could be out. Charlotte has 19 video games left and isn’t in playoff rivalry, so it could be arduous to think about the workforce dashing him again.

“It’s just a basketball ankle and there is nothing that you can do about that,” Clifford stated.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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