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LaMelo Ball Emerges as NBA’s Crunch-Time Leader in Loss vs 76ers

LaMelo Ball joins an exclusive stat club after the loss against the 76ers.

Justin Grasso

Nov 10, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball (1) drives between Philadelphia 76ers forward Caleb Martin (L) and guard Jeff Dowtin Jr. (R) during the second quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
Nov 10, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball (1) drives between Philadelphia 76ers forward Caleb Martin (L) and guard Jeff Dowtin Jr. (R) during the second quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
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A 16-point lead in the fourth quarter wasn’t enough for the Philadelphia 76ers to put the Charlotte Hornets away with ease for their second victory of the year.

The Hornets can thank their star guard, LaMelo Ball, for that.

Since the 2024-2025 NBA season tipped off, Ball has been a man on a mission in crunch time. After Sunday’s game between the Sixers and the Hornets, Ball is recognized as the NBA’s leading scorer when it comes to the fourth quarter.

Spending all but eight seconds of the fourth quarter on the court, Ball put up nine shots from the field, with five coming from deep. He was nearly perfect from three and made 67 percent of his shots in crunch time. Ball finished the fourth quarter with 16 points. He helped the Hornets outscore the Sixers 31-21, forcing overtime.

After Sunday’s game, Ball is currently the only player with 100-plus points in quarter four this year.

Behind the Hornets’ star is the Brooklyn Nets guard Cam Thomas. As Thomas thrives through his first ten games, 88 of his points have come in the fourth quarter.

Sacramento Kings forward DeMar DeRozan places third with 84 fourth-quarter points in ten games.

As great as Ball’s fourth quarter against the Sixers was, he couldn’t help the Hornets close out the matchup on top with a victory.

After hitting a clutch shot to send the game into overtime, the Sixers found an edge during the final five minutes.

The two teams battled back and forth. Ball scored on one field goal attempt, but hit on three free throws. He scored five of the Hornets’ eight overtime points.

Meanwhile, the Sixers received small contributions from Jared McCain, Guerschon Yabusele, Kyle Lowry, Kelly Oubre, and Caleb Martin, as they all scored two points to help the Sixers put up ten points in overtime.

Ball’s 38 points were impressive, but the Sixers made it out with a 107-105 victory.

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Justin Grasso
JUSTIN GRASSO

Title: Credentialed writer/reporter covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation Email: JustinGrasso32@Gmail.com Location: Philadelphia, PA Expertise: Reporting, insight, and analysis on the Sixers and the NBA  Justin Grasso is a credentialed writer and publisher covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation.  Grasso got his start in sports media in 2016 with FantasyPros, working the news desk, providing game-by-game player analysis and updates on the Portland Trail Blazers and the Golden State Warriors. By 2017, he joined FanSided’s Philadelphia Eagles site as a staff writer. After spending one season covering the Eagles as a staff writer, Grasso was promoted to become the site’s Co-Editor. For the next two NFL seasons, he covered the Eagles closely before broadening his NFL coverage. For a brief stint, Grasso covered the NFL on a national basis after joining Heavy.com as an NFL news desk writer. In 2019, Grasso joined the 76ers' beat on a part-time basis, stepping into a role with South Jersey’s 97.3 ESPN. Ahead of the 2019-2020 NBA season, he concluded a three-year stint covering the Eagles and joined the Sixers beat full-time. Grasso has covered the 76ers exclusively since then for Sports Illustrated. He is a member of the Pro Basketball Writer’s Association.  Twitter: @JGrasso_ Instagram: @JGrassoNBA

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