LaMelo Ball punches team mascot Hugo twice after Hornets eliminate Heat from tournament play
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — LaMelo Ball was so emotional after delivering a knockout blow to the Miami Heat in an electric 127-126 play-in tournament victory Tuesday night that he even took to the victory celebration, landing two right-handed blows to the oversized head of Hugo, the Charlotte Hornets’ mascot.
In a wild sequence, Ball avenged two critical misses seconds earlier by scoring on a right-handed layup with 4.7 seconds left, and Charlotte prevailed after Miles Bridges blocked Davion Mitchell’s layup attempt down the line as time expired. That set off a wild celebration on the field involving players, coaches and fans as the team earned its first home playoff victory in a decade.
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Ball was seen celebrating at midcourt and flexing after the shot, but it was local television station WBTV that captured video of an elated Ball throwing two punches at Hugo before embracing Coby White in a bear hug.
Hugo simply walked away.
“We worked out a good play, I feel like. I just orchestrated it and it worked,” Ball said.
Ball wasn’t asked to punch the mascot after the game; the video had not surfaced at that point in all the confusion of a game in which Ball had tripped Heat star Bam Adebayo, who had injured his lower back and been knocked out of the game.
“The crowd was amazing,” Ball said of the sold-out crowd. “Everyone who came today was very loud, so it was a good crowd.”
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The Hornets made it to overtime after White hit an off-balance 3-pointer from the corner with 10.8 seconds left to tie the game, and Miami’s Tyler Herro missed a shot late in regulation.
The Hornets gave up a five-point lead in OT behind two Ball errors.
After Herro hit a 3-pointer in the corner, Ball turned the ball over to 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 stayed together the whole time, it was an up-and-down game. But this is the play-in,” Bridges said. “… We did a great job on offense, LaMelo did a great job making layups, and then we executed on defense on the other end.”
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Ball was the center of attention all night.
He appeared with a hit on Adebayo’s leg early in the second quarter, knocking the Miami center onto his back. The ball was not called for a foul and Adebayo did not return, playing just 11 minutes.
Miami coach Erik Spoelstra later said Ball should have been ejected.
It is unclear whether Ball will face disciplinary action from the league for his role in the Adebayo incident.
Ball apologized after the game and said he was disoriented during the game after being hit in the head seconds earlier during a field goal attempt.
The ninth-seeded Hornets will play Friday night against the loser of Wednesday’s night game between Orlando and Philadelphia.
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