28 days ago
The Portland Press Herald
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — LaMelo Ball made six 3-pointers before breaking his right ankle in the third quarter, and the Charlotte Hornets held on to beat the Detroit Pistons 117-106 on Monday night for their fifth straight victory.
Terry Rozier scored 22 points, Gordon Hayward had 19 points and rookie Mark Williams added 15 points and 11 rebounds for Charlotte, which is still second-to-last in the Eastern Conference standings – ahead of only Detroit.
Ball finished with 18 points on 6-of-7 shooting from 3-point range, his fifth straight game making at least five 3s. He was hurt on a non-contact play in the third quarter, and the Hornets announced after the game that he had fractured his right ankle.
Ball’s other ankle has been bothersome this season — he’s sprained his left ankle three ties, limiting him to 36 games.
This time, he hurt his right ankle as he was he was dribbling and attempting to make a move near half court. Ball fell down, but managed to prevent the ball from going out of bounds. He left the game and did not return.
Hamidou Diallo scored 23 points, and James Wiseman had his best game since coming to Detroit from Golden State as part of a four-team trade, finishing with 23 points on 9-of-11 shooting. Marvin Bagley added 21 points and 12 rebounds off the bench for Detroit, which has lost five straight.
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The Pistons trailed by 24 in the second half before cutting the lead to five on a driving left-handed layup by Killian Hayes with five minutes remaining. But Rozier answered with a short jumper and Kelly Oubre Jr. canned a 3-pointer from the corner to push the lead back to double digits.
Rozier put the game away when he drove the right side of the lane and scored and drew a foul for a 3-point play, putting the Hornets up 10 with 46 seconds left.
NOTES
BUCKS: Cleveland Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam have agreed to purchase Marc Lasry’s 25% stake of the Milwaukee Bucks in a deal that puts the value of the NBA franchise at $3.5 billion, two people with knowledge of the negotiations said.
The agreement has not been finalized, said the people, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither the Bucks nor the Haslams publicly disclosed any element of the agreement.
Those numbers, if finalized, would mean the Haslams plan to spend about $875 million for Lasry’s stake of the team.
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The Haslams, who also own the Columbus Crew of Major Soccer League, have explored buying other professional sports teams, including the Minnesota Timberwolves in the past. Sportico was first to report the Haslam Sports Group’s interest in the Bucks. ESPN and The Athletic were first to report the agreement on Monday.
HAWKS: Quin Snyder was more than just the first coaching candidate contacted when Atlanta Hawks General Manager Landry Fields began looking to replace Nate McMillan.
Snyder was the only candidate interviewed by Fields.
“Everything we were looking for, it was check, check, check,” Fields said of his conversation with Snyder, the former Utah Jazz coach, who was introduced on Monday as the Hawks’ new coach. Fields said finding the right fit immediately with Snyder “was a big moment.”
Snyder will make his Atlanta debut on Tuesday night, when the Hawks play at home against Washington. Joe Prunty, who was 2-0 as the interim coach, will remain on the bench beside Snyder.
The Hawks announced Snyder’s hiring on a five-year deal on Sunday night, only five days after McMillan was fired with the team mired in eighth place in the Eastern Conference.
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The announcement was not a surprise. Fields confirmed on Wednesday that Snyder was a candidate.
Fields hopes the Hawks, currently in position for a spot in the play-in tournament, can finish the regular season strong under Snyder and earn a playoff spot as one of the top six teams in the East.
The Hawks (31-30) have struggled to reclaim the success they enjoyed under McMillan in reaching the 2021 Eastern Conference finals. The expectation to find that winning formula is now transferred to Snyder in a potentially difficult transition so late in the season.
“It’s always a challenge, but those challenges are often most rewarding and the best opportunity,” Snyder said.
He acknowledged that the decision to take over the job now, instead of waiting until after the season, wasn’t easy.
“As I thought about it, I think the opportunity to come in now, although maybe challenging, is also an opportunity to hopefully go on a run,” Snyder said. “Also, and I think these things are not mutually exclusive, to begin to build a foundation, a culture.”
Snyder, 56, was an assistant on Mike Budenholzer’s Hawks staff in the 2013-14 season.
He was 372-264 as Utah’s coach from the 2014-15 to 2021-22 seasons, finishing with six consecutive playoff seasons. Even though the Jazz never advanced past the Western Conference semifinals, the winning record would have made Snyder an attractive candidate to other teams who may make coaching changes after the season.
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