Hornets vs. Pacers Reactions: The good, the bad and the LaMelo Ball

The Hornets were blown out in every sense by the Pacers in Tuesday’s play-in game in Indianapolis, falling 144-117.

From the onset, the Pacers raced out to a big lead behind 14 points inside the first five minutes by Doug McDermott as they led 23-9. A Hornets run never materialized at any point on the night as the Pacers continued to build on their advantage.

The lead was 16 points by the end of the first quarter and 24 points by halftime. Any hopes of a run early in the third quarter were extinguished with haste as Indiana scored the first seven points of the half inside the opening 75 seconds to push the lead over 30 points.

The Pacers led by at least 23 points the remainder of the contest and were never truly under threat from early in the first quarter on.

Miles Bridges had a game-high 23 points for Charlotte. Cody Zeller had 17 points, going a perfect 7-for-7 from the field and 3-for-3 from the free throw line.

Only two people looked like they gave a damn in the first half, that being Miles Bridges and Cody Zeller. The latter had a team-high 10 points in the first half and the former only scored four points but showed a level of effort no one else on the court matched for Charlotte.

The two were lone bright spots in a first half that was as much of a worst-case scenario as could have been imagined by the Hornets. Each continued playing at a high level in the second half even into garbage time and left some positive note on a poor finish to the season.

From the moment the game tipped off, the Pacers played like it was a do-or-die postseason game and the Hornets played like it was a mid-January regular season game. Fittingly, Indiana blitzed Charlotte early on.

But that the Hornets never showed any response was as concerning as it was frustrating. The lead only grew and grew and grew as the first half continued. A halftime break did not change things as the Pacers lead jumped to 31 points.

At no point did the Hornets look like a team playing for its season to continue or even wanting their season to continue.

Save for about a two- or three-minute stretch in the third quarter, LaMelo Ball was as much of a bystander as anyone on the court. By the time he finally showed some intensity in the fourth quarter, the Hornets were down 30 points and it was inconsequential to the result.

He finished the game going 4-of-14 from the field, 2-of-6 from the 3-point line and 4-of-6 from the free throw line for 14 points.

Unlike in other games where he struggled to score the ball, Ball had no impact elsewhere in the game. He finished with four assists, a rebound and turned the ball over four times.