Charlotte Hornets @ Houston Rockets
Wednesday, October 23, 2024 at 8:00 PM ET
Toyota Center, Houston, TX | Game ID: 22400068
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
HOU 26 34 23 22 105CHA 21 28 30 31 110
ESPN UpdateESPN Update
Ball has 34 points and 11 assists in return from ankle injury to lead Hornets over Rockets 110-105
HOUSTON -- — LaMelo Ball had 34 points and 11 assists in his return from an ankle injury and Grant Williams made a go-ahead 3-pointer with 40 seconds left to give the Charlotte Hornets a 110-105 win over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night.
Jalen Green scored five quick points to tie it before Williams put the Hornets on top with his step-back 3 to make it 106-103. Ball, who was playing in his first regular-season game since Jan. 26, added two free throws after that to secure the victory.
Green led Houston with 28 points and Alperen Sengun added 25 points and 18 rebounds in his return after missing the last 19 games of last season with a severely sprained ankle.
Takeaways Hornets: This team has been plagued by injuries in recent years and the problems continued in the opener with young star Brandon Miller sitting out the second half with soreness in his left hip. They’ll need to keep him, Ball and Miles Bridges healthy if they hope to return to the playoffs after an eight-year drought.
Rockets: They need to play more consistently for four quarters after leading by double figures for most of the first three quarters before letting the Hornets get back into it late.
Key moment The Hornets used a 10-0 run that spanned from late in the third quarter to early in the fourth to close the gap and put themselves in position for the win after trailing for most of the game.
Key stat Houston shot 36.9% from the field while the Hornets made 44.7% of their shots.
Up next The Rockets host the Grizzlies on Friday night and the Hornets visit Atlanta.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
HOUAS A. Sengun
AT A. Thompson
CW C. Whitmore
DB D. Brooks
FV F. VanVleet
JG J. Green
JL J. Landale
JS J. Smith Jr.
RS R. Sheppard
TE T. Eason
CHABM B. Miller
CM C. Martin
GW G. Williams
LB L. Ball
MB M. Bridges
MD M. Diabaté
NR N. Richards
SC S. Curry
TM T. Mann
VM V. Micić
HOU/CHA the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur