LOS ANGELES -- — LaMelo Ball scored 27 of his 30 points in the second half while tying his career high with nine 3-pointers, and the Charlotte Hornets overcame Luka Doncic's 39 points for a 135-117 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night.

Ball had 11 assists and six rebounds, and he hit eight 3-pointers in the second half alone, gleefully celebrating each one while quieting the home crowd in his native Los Angeles area.

Brandon Miller also scored 26 points for the Hornets, while Miles Bridges added 25 and rookie Kon Knueppel had 19.

Ten days after the sub-.500 Hornets shocked the NBA-leading Oklahoma City Thunder with a 27-point road victory, Charlotte showed another taste of its considerable promise. The Hornets improved to 2-1 on their five-game West Coast trip by running away from Doncic and LeBron James, who had 29 points and nine rebounds.

Doncic hit six 3-pointers in the slumping Lakers’ fourth defeat in five games, including embarrassing losses to Sacramento and Charlotte in the past four days. Los Angeles' improved focus in a victory over Atlanta on Tuesday had vanished, with the Hornets scoring 105 points in the final three quarters.

Doncic hit three 3-pointers and scored 19 points in the first quarter while the Lakers maintained their offensive excellence from their 140-point performance against Hawks. But Charlotte surged ahead in the second quarter and pushed its lead to 15 points in the third, and the Lakers never seriously threatened a comeback.

Jake LaRavia scored 18 points for Los Angeles, which got just nine points from its reserves on combined 4-for-19 shooting.

Up next

Hornets: At Golden State on Saturday.

Lakers: At Portland on Saturday.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA

Play By Play

Recent plays and game events

TIME	PLAY
12:00	Moussa Diabate vs. Deandre Ayton (LeBron James gains possession)	0	0
11:44	Luka Doncic misses driving floating jump shot	0	0
11:41	Kon Knueppel defensive rebound	0	0
11:21	Miles Bridges makes 26-foot three point jumper (LaMelo Ball assists)	0	3
11:00	LeBron James makes 25-foot three point jumper (Jake LaRavia assists)	3	3
10:49	Brandon Miller makes 9-foot two point shot (Miles Bridges assists)	3	5
10:36	Marcus Smart makes driving layup	5	5
10:24	Brandon Miller bad pass turnover (LeBron James steals)	5	5
10:19	Marcus Smart makes 23-foot running jump shot (Luka Doncic assists)	8	5
9:56	LeBron James blocks Kon Knueppel 's 4-foot two point shot	8	5
9:56	Lakers defensive team rebound	8	5
9:46	Luka Doncic makes 28-foot three pointer	11	5
9:33	Moussa Diabate makes 5-foot dunk (LaMelo Ball assists)	11	7
9:28	Luka Doncic makes 16-foot pullup jump shot	13	7
9:28	Kon Knueppel shooting foul	13	7
9:28	Luka Doncic makes free throw 1 of 1	14	7
9:18	Brandon Miller misses 27-foot three point pullup jump shot	14	7
9:15	Deandre Ayton defensive rebound	14	7
9:07	Luka Doncic misses 5-foot pullup jump shot	14	7
9:04	LaMelo Ball defensive rebound	14	7
8:59	LaMelo Ball misses 27-foot three point jumper	14	7
8:55	Deandre Ayton defensive rebound	14	7
8:55	LeBron James out of bounds bad pass turnover	14	7
8:38	LaMelo Ball misses 5-foot two point shot	14	7
8:34	Deandre Ayton defensive rebound	14	7
8:26	Luka Doncic misses driving floating jump shot	14	7
8:24	Moussa Diabate defensive rebound	14	7
8:21	Miles Bridges out of bounds bad pass turnover	14	7
8:03	Jake LaRavia makes 26-foot three point jumper (Deandre Ayton assists)	17	7
8:02	Hornets Full timeout	17	7
7:51	Moussa Diabate lost ball turnover (Marcus Smart steals)	17	7
7:47	Deandre Ayton makes 1-foot dunk (Marcus Smart assists)	19	7
7:33	Luka Doncic personal foul	19	7
7:15	Brandon Miller misses 19-foot pullup jump shot	19	7
7:13	Marcus Smart defensive rebound	19	7
7:11	LeBron James misses 26-foot running jump shot	19	7
7:07	Jake LaRavia offensive rebound	19	7
7:03	Luka Doncic misses driving floating jump shot	19	7
7:03	Deandre Ayton offensive rebound	19	7
6:59	Deandre Ayton misses 12-foot two point shot	19	7
6:58	Miles Bridges defensive rebound	19	7
6:51	LaMelo Ball misses 26-foot three point step back jumpshot	19	7
6:48	Kon Knueppel offensive rebound	19	7
6:46	Brandon Miller misses 26-foot three point jumper	19	7
6:46	LaMelo Ball offensive rebound	19	7
6:36	Miles Bridges makes 6-foot driving floating jump shot (Brandon Miller assists)	19	9
6:17	Deandre Ayton misses 11-foot jumper	19	9
6:14	Miles Bridges defensive rebound	19	9
6:08	Brandon Miller makes dunk (LaMelo Ball assists)	19	11
5:50	Luka Doncic makes 2-foot two point shot	21	11
5:38	Miles Bridges makes 26-foot three point jumper (LaMelo Ball assists)	21	14
5:09	Marcus Smart misses 34-foot three point pullup jump shot	21	14
5:09	LeBron James offensive rebound	21	14
5:03	LeBron James makes 17-foot two point shot	23	14
4:38	Kon Knueppel misses 27-foot three point step back jumpshot	23	14
4:34	Miles Bridges offensive rebound	23	14
4:34	Miles Bridges makes 26-foot three point jumper	23	17
4:26	Lakers Full timeout	23	17
4:26	Rui Hachimura enters the game for LeBron James	23	17
4:26	Gabe Vincent enters the game for Marcus Smart	23	17
4:26	Collin Sexton enters the game for Brandon Miller	23	17
4:26	Sion James enters the game for LaMelo Ball	23	17
4:19	Sion James shooting foul	23	17
4:19	Luka Doncic misses free throw 1 of 2	23	17
4:19	Lakers offensive team rebound	23	17
4:19	Luka Doncic makes free throw 2 of 2	24	17
4:06	Kon Knueppel makes 3-foot two point shot (Moussa Diabate assists)	24	19
3:42	Luka Doncic makes 7-foot driving floating jump shot	26	19
3:42	Moussa Diabate shooting foul	26	19
3:42	Jarred Vanderbilt enters the game for Deandre Ayton	26	19
3:42	Kobe Bufkin enters the game for Jake LaRavia	26	19
3:42	Ryan Kalkbrenner enters the game for Moussa Diabate	26	19
3:42	Grant Williams enters the game for Miles Bridges	26	19
3:42	Luka Doncic misses free throw 1 of 1	26	19
3:40	Sion James defensive rebound	26	19
3:27	Kon Knueppel makes driving layup (Ryan Kalkbrenner assists)	26	21
3:27	Rui Hachimura defensive goaltending violation	26	21
3:14	Luka Doncic makes driving layup	28	21
3:04	Kon Knueppel misses 26-foot three point jumper	28	21
3:02	Rui Hachimura defensive rebound	28	21
2:55	Rui Hachimura makes 23-foot three point jumper (Luka Doncic assists)	31	21
2:40	Collin Sexton makes driving layup	31	23
2:32	Jarred Vanderbilt makes 2-foot layup (Rui Hachimura assists)	33	23
2:25	Grant Williams misses 25-foot three point jumper	33	23
2:25	Jarred Vanderbilt defensive rebound	33	23
2:09	Luka Doncic makes 26-foot three point step back jumpshot	36	23
2:07	Double technical foul: Ryan Kalkbrenner and Jarred Vanderbilt	36	23
1:52	Sion James makes driving layup	36	25
1:34	Grant Williams blocks Gabe Vincent 's 12-foot fade away jump shot	36	25
1:31	Kon Knueppel defensive rebound	36	25
1:27	Rui Hachimura personal foul	36	25
1:17	Rui Hachimura blocks Sion James 's 4-foot driving layup	36	25
1:16	Jarred Vanderbilt defensive rebound	36	25
1:11	Luka Doncic misses running pullup jump shot	36	25
1:07	Grant Williams defensive rebound	36	25
1:05	Ryan Kalkbrenner makes 1-foot dunk (Sion James assists)	36	27
52.9	Gabe Vincent misses 27-foot three point jumper	36	27
50.5	Sion James defensive rebound	36	27
33.1	Sion James vs. Luka Doncic (Grant Williams gains possession)	36	27
29.7	Kobe Bufkin shooting foul	36	27
29.7	Grant Williams makes free throw 1 of 3	36	28
29.7	Grant Williams makes free throw 2 of 3	36	29
29.7	Josh Green enters the game for Collin Sexton	36	29
29.7	Brandon Miller enters the game for Ryan Kalkbrenner	36	29
29.7	Grant Williams makes free throw 3 of 3	36	30
11.8	Rui Hachimura misses 22-foot three point jumper	36	30
11.0	Kobe Bufkin offensive rebound	36	30
11.0	Kon Knueppel personal foul	36	30
3.0	Luka Doncic makes 32-foot three pointer	39	30
0.0	End of the 1st Quarter	39	30

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Game Information

Time, Location & Referees

Venue

crypto.com Arena

Los Angeles, CA

Date & Time

3:30 AM, January 16, 2026

Coverage

Spectrum Sports Net, FanDuel SN SE, Spectrum Sports Net +, NBA League Pass

Attendance

18,997

Referees

John Goble, Che Flores, Jonathan Sterling

2025-26 Southeast Standings

TEAM	W	L	PCT	STRK
Orlando	27	24	.529	W2
Miami	27	26	.509	L2
Atlanta	26	28	.481	L1
Charlotte	25	28	.472	W9
Washington	14	37	.275	L1

2025-26 Pacific Standings

TEAM	W	L	PCT	STRK
LA Lakers	32	19	.627	W3
Phoenix	31	22	.585	L2
Golden State	28	25	.528	L1
LA Clippers	24	27	.471	W1
Sacramento	12	42	.222	L12

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LaMelo Ball hits 9 3-pointers to lead Hornets to surprising 135-117 win over Luka's Lakers

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