Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic gave Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball his flowers after a 135-117 loss on Thursday. After Doncic's scuffle with Sacramento Kings guard Dennis Schroder this week, he had nothing but good things to say about the guard who gave the Lakers 30 points on 10-of-20 shooting, including a whopping nine threes.
Doncic was amazed by Ball's shooting performance in the Lakers' loss and didn't hold back in his postgame comments, per Yardbarker's Chaitanya Dadhwal.
“I mean, he hit some crazy shots, but that’s what he does. He was shooting a lot of shots off the dribble,” Doncic said. “We planned for that, but he hit some crazy shots. As I said, he does that, so he got really hot.”
Ball connected on eight of his nine threes after halftime.
“He made nine threes [tonight], eight threes in the second half, so it was hard to stop him,” Doncic added on how Ball found his rhythm in the second half.
Ball also finished with 11 assists, six rebounds, and one block. Luka Doncic scored a game-high 39 points on 15-of-26 shooting, including six threes, and four assists for the Lakers. LeBron James finished with 29 points, nine rebounds, six assists, and two steals.
Marcus Smart reacts to LaMelo Ball's shooting in Lakers loss
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Lakers forward LeBron James (23) shoots the ball against Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball (1) in the second half at Crypto.com Arena
Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Veteran Marcus Smart believes the Lakers can prosper amid a grueling stretch of games despite losing four out of their last five games. Smart was also amazed by Ball's nine threes en route to a 30-point performance while leading the Hornets to a lopsided victory.
“Some crazy shots. But that Hornets team has been doing that over the last couple of games. We all know LaMelo. He's been playing like that since he was in high school,” Smart said. “To us, it's some crazy shots, but to him, those are his shots. You definitely tip your hat off.”
Marcus Smart: "Some crazy shots. We all know LaMelo. He's been playing like that since he was in high school" pic.twitter.com/e1yK2jQ5LF
— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) January 16, 2026
Smart finished with 10 points, four rebounds, three assists, and two steals in Thursday's loss to the Hornets. The Lakers will look to bounce back against the Blazers on Saturday.