Dallas Mavericks at Charlotte Hornets

Hornets rout Mavericks 117-90 for 5th straight victory and .500 record

LaMelo Ball added 15 points and nine assists to help the Hornets (31-31) reach .500 for the first time since Oct. 28 when they were 2-2.

Brandon Williams had 18 points for the sputtering Mavericks. They’ve lost 14 of 16.

Charlotte, playing on the first night of a back-to-back, got tremendous production from its bench, with the backups shooting 12 of 21 from 3-point range.

Grant Williams made four 3s, Josh Green and Sion James had three each and Pat Connaughton had two.

Charlotte was whistled for a season-high 31 fouls and Dallas went to the free throw line 42 times, making 31. However, the Mavericks made only 3 of 22 shots from beyond the 3-point arc and could never get on track offensively in the second half making just 11 field goals.

The Hornets built a 57-48 lead at halftime after holding the Mavs to 42.5% shooting from the floor, but extended the lead to 22 in the closing seconds of the third quarter when James buried a 3-pointer from the corner.

A capacity crowd of 19,519 showed up at the Spectrum Center hoping to see a rematch of the Jan. 30 head-to-head showdown between Kon Knueppel and Cooper Flagg, the top two candidates for NBA Rookie of the Year. Flagg scored 49 points in that game, but Knueppel had eight 3s and 34 points and the Hornets won 123-121.

But Flagg was ruled out ahead of the game with a midfoot strain and Knueppel suffered through one of the worst games of his young career, finishing 1 of 7 from beyond the 3-point arc for 13 points.

Up next Mavericks: At Orlando on Thursday night.

Regular Season Series

CHA wins series 2-0