Charlotte Hornets star LaMelo Ball had an unfortunate collision with head coach Charles Lee at the start of the game against the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday. Miles Bridges passed the ball to Brandon Miller, but the latter couldn’t anticipate the pass. Ball tried to save the play and went after it. Unfortunately for the Hornets, Lee also went after the ball.
The two collided, leading Ball to exit the game and go to the locker room. The Hornets announced that the guard suffered a laceration above his eye. It didn’t take long for him to return to action, fortunately. He returned to the floor before the end of the first quarter. The star guard had 24 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two steals.
After the Hornets’ 102-95 win, Ball had no hard feelings for Lee.
“It’s all good, though. It’s all love,” Ball said.
Part of my chat with LaMelo and how "it's all love" with Charles Lee after knocking heads. https://t.co/2wowm1jmXw pic.twitter.com/4ugo0uA58d
— Rod Boone (@rodboone) February 3, 2026
LaMelo Ball focused more on the Hornets’ current streak. Charlotte has won seven straight games, the first time since 2016. The team’s current run is encouraging, and the former All-Star hopes to establish a new culture.
“We’ve got new faces in here and we are just throwing all of those years from before away,” he added. “We just want to be us. Make something new here and get a culture going.”
Charles Lee took the fall for LaMelo Ball’s first-quarter exit
During his postgame interview, Lee admitted that it was his mistake for trying to get involved in the play. The coach revealed that he apologized to LaMelo Ball for his error.
“I took a play off and you’re not supposed to take any plays off,” Lee said. “I thought the ball was going out of bounds and I was going to save it from going into the stands and he was going to save the ball. We went head to head. Credit to him he didn’t yell at me too bad.”
Fortunately for Lee, Ball did not suffer anything serious.
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