LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges capitalized on a major Lakers weakness in the Hornets' upset victory

Charlotte executed their crunch time offensive plan to perfection.

Jason Parkhurst-Imagn Images

The Charlotte Hornets, against all odds, started their daunting post-All-Star break road trip with a scintillating victory over LeBron James, Luka Dončić, and the mighty Los Angeles Lakers. The standalone bout had some extra mustard on it with the swath of drama surrounding the failed Mark Williams trade, and Charlotte came out swinging for their man.

It took 30+ minutes of game time for the Hornets to find their footing on offense, but they were scorching hot down the stretch. A 17-1 Charlotte run to end the third quarter set the stage for winning time and allowed Charlotte to pulverize a particular mismatch to close out the victory.

The Lakers have a Luka problem (on defense)

Jason Parkhurst-Imagn Images

Charles Lee has made a habit out of picking on mismatches to close out games. In a tight loss to the Denver Nuggets on February 1st, Hornets guards consistently set screens for Miles Bridges to allow him an opportunity to attack Jamal Murray. Bridges delivered with eight points in the last four minutes before Charlotte's upset bid flamed out.

Every Miles Bridges' bucket from Saturday night's fourth quarter against the Nuggets.

Draw the switch. Get downhill. Finish strong through contact. Was a blast to watch. pic.twitter.com/s5nMG2PCcE

— Matt Alquiza (@malquiza8) February 3, 2025

On Wednesday night in the City of Stars, Lee's target was Luka Dončić.

Hornets offense in the clutch was basically “go find Luka” and it worked.

Teams are going to do this often. Lakers just don’t have the defensive infrastructure to insulate him like the Mavs did. https://t.co/TJaYJRKiqd pic.twitter.com/O1VSiF0NBD

— Esfandiar Baraheni (@JustEsBaraheni) February 20, 2025

Wherever Luka was, Charlotte found him. A strategy that the Boston Celtics employed to defeat Dončić and the Dallas Mavericks in the 2024 NBA Finals. Who was on that Boston coaching staff?

Charles Lee.

It was a fruitful strategy. Even though Luka wasn't the primary defender on every Hornet that scored late in Wednesday night's fourth quarter, he was consistently involved in Lee's preferred actions. JJ Redick, the Lakers' head coach, stopped switching with Luka and began to double team as the clock wound down. A determined approach by LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges was the antidote for that change. Both of Charlotte's primary creators carved up the Lakers' double teams with ease and either got a bucket for themselves or found a teammate for an open look.

Hornets’ LaMelo Ball crosses Lakers’ Luka Doncic pic.twitter.com/vpBmNRvG9s

— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) February 20, 2025

Dončić's defense was so poor that Redick pulled him off the floor for Los Angeles' last true defensive possession. It didn't help. LaMelo Ball, a winning basketball player despite the prevailing narrative, dusted Jarred Vanderbilt for a deuce that put the game out of reach.

LAMELO ICES IT FOR CHARLOTTE WITH THIS CLUTCH BUCKET 🧊🧊

Hornets get the win in LA! pic.twitter.com/whJp0ixPR7

— NBA (@NBA) February 20, 2025

On top of Luka's defensive deficiencies, the final few minutes shined a light on the Lakers' lack of a rim-deterrent that can hang on offense in close games. If only they had an intriguing 23-year-old with an NBA Combine record wingspan to swat away opponent paint attempts while finishing lobs from LeBron and Luka. Oh well. The Lakers' loss is the Hornets' gain for now.

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