Hornets Reactions: Hot-shooting Clippers hand Charlotte third-straight loss

The Clippers dominated from start to finish behind hot shooting against the Hornets on Saturday, routing the visitors 125-98.

Los Angeles came out of the gate firing away from the field, opening up a quick double-digit lead in the opening period and heading into the second up 37-21.

Leading wire-to-wire, the Hornets never made a run of any nature to cut into the lead as the advantage only continued to grow as the game continued. The host’s biggest lead was 31 points in the fourth quarter.

Miles Bridges had 21 points off the bench for the Clippers to lead the way. Gordon Hayward added 17 and LaMelo Ball had 13. Paul George led the Clippers with 21 points.

The Good: Miles Bridges

Coming into the night averaging 6.0 points over his last five games, Bridges exploded in the third quarter with 14 points in the frame. He knocked down four 3-pointers in the period and hit five in total on the night, eclipsing his previous season-high of four. On the night, he finished with 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting while hitting 5-of-9 from 3-point range. He added four assists and three rebounds in 28 minutes. It was the lone bright spot on a night when not only were the Hornets blown out but suffered a number of injuries as well.

The Bad: Injuries

The Hornets have been massively bitten by the injury bug this season. For a brief moment they were healthy in the second half of the season but that all started to change even before Saturday. Cody Zeller did not play on Saturday due to a shoulder injury. P.J. Washington turned his ankle in the first half and left the game briefly before returning and finishing out the game. Terry Rozier suffered a left hip contusion in the second half and was ruled out for the remainder of the game. LaMelo Ball suffered a right wrist injury that clearly affected him throughout the second half of the game as he heavily favored that wrist and only played briefly in the fourth quarter before committing a foul to exit the game. It was a brutal, brutal stop in Los Angeles for the Hornets.

LaMelo Ball: Injured and impactful

Ball's night was a rough one both statistically and physically. He finished just 4-of-12 from the field, 1-of-4 from the 3-point line and 4-of-7 from the field for 13 total points. He did add five rebounds, two assists and three steals. His shooting totals were down, though, because of a wrist injury he suffered late in the first half. After injury his wrist breaking his fall after being fouled on a drive, Ball had it taped at halftime and remained in the game. However, he was noticeably favoring the wrist throughout the second half. He knocked down a 3-pointer shooting right-handed and had a handful of free throws but dribbled and passed predominantly with his left hand. The Hornets did not provide any update on an injury but it will be worth keeping an eye on moving forward.

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