LaMelo Ball hits career-high 10 3s, scores 37 points to help Hornets rout Wizards

News > Sports News

Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball (1) shoots against Washington Wizards guard Will Riley, left, during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Charlotte Hornets center Ryan Kalkbrenner (11) dunks past Washington Wizards guard Bub Carrington (7) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass) — Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball (1) shoots against Washington Wizards guard Will Riley, left, during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Audio By Carbonatix

8:32 PM on Sunday, February 22

By PATRICK STEVENS

WASHINGTON (AP) — LaMelo Ball made a career-high 10 3-pointers and scored 37 points to help the Charlotte Hornets rout the Washington Wizards 129-112 on Sunday night for a four-game season sweep.

Ball attempted 15 3-pointers. Kon Knueppel added 28 points, and Brandon Miller had 22. The Hornets made 12 of 14 3-pointers in the third quarter to blow open the game, and finished 25 of 46 from long range.

Bilal Coulibaly scored 15 of his 17 points in the first quarter for Washington. The Wizards dropped to 16-40, missing a chance for their first three-game winning streak since February 2025.

Charlotte had lost three of four since a nine-game winning streak ended just before the All-Star break. The Hornets (27-31) are 10th in the Eastern Conference, a half-game behind Atlanta and 1 1/2 games ahead of Milwaukee.

The Hornets led 61-56 at the halft. Miller hit two 3s and Ball added another within Charlotte’s first four possessions of the third quarter to make it 70-56.

Moments later, Knueppel connected on back-to-back 3s to stretch the lead to 15 for the first time. The Wizards never got closer than 13 again.

Knueppel made five 3-pointers and has am NBA-high 198 this season. He's is nine away from surpassing the rookie record set by Keegan Murray in 2022-23.

Up next

Hornets: At Chicago on Tuesday night.

Wzards: At Atlanta on Tuesday night.

___

AP NBA: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NBA