The Hornets got an impressive 100-97 win on the road over the Lakers last night in Mark Williams' first game back with Charlotte after the trade deadline.
In 29 minutes of action, Williams finished with 10 points, grabbed nine rebounds, and was 3-of-7 from the floor. It was LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges who led the way for the Hornets as they combined for 56 points, snagged 11 rebounds, and shot an efficient 18-of-41 (43.9 percent) from the field and 10 of 24 (41.6 percent) from behind the arc.
Charlotte trailed by double-digits with four minutes left in the third quarter of play before using a 22-1 run to fuel their victory. In that third period, Lakers guard Austin Reaves was ejected after discussing some words back and forth with the officials.
LeBron James put on a valiant effort scoring 16 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, but ultimately came up just short as he missed back-to-back 3-point attempts to tie the game in the final seconds.
The Lakers are still figuring it out with Luka Doncic
Luka Doncic, in just his third game as a Laker, was rather underwhelming as he finished the night with 14 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists, and shot a poor 5-of-18 from the floor. Luka was asked in the postgame by reporters about the challenge of learning to play together to the best of their ability.
"You know, it's going to take a little bit of time," Doncic said. "Today, a lot of rustiness from my part, so [I] started the game with like four or five turnovers, that can't happen."
Just a few weeks ago, the NBA world was left speechless after the Dallas Mavericks traded away a 25-year-old Luka Doncic at the trade deadline after taking the organization to the Finals just last season.
The Lakers didn't stop there, as they continued to add to their roster at the deadline by trading away rookie Dalton Knecht, forward Cam Reddish, and an unprotected 2031 first-round pick to the Hornets in exchange for center Mark Williams. Just when you thought things couldn't get crazier, they did — as the trade was rescinded by the Lakers just two days later.
NBA correspondent Marc Stein reported that the Lakers rescinded the deal “due to failure to satisfy a condition of the trade.”
ESPN's Ramona Shelburne later noted that the Lakers "needed to feel confident he'd be healthy enough to be their starting center for the next 5-10 years" but did not believe that Williams would be able to do so following the physical.
Mark Williams himself was in as much shock as the rest of the NBA world when he heard the news that the trade had been rescinded.
“My agent told me [that the trade was rescinded],” Williams told reporters. “I didn’t think I had failed my physical. That didn’t even cross my mind. The night I got traded I played hella minutes. I didn’t think in any world that was possible. Since I’ve been back since the start of the year, I’ve played games with a lot of minutes. I feel like every injury I’ve had has been well-documented and I’ve recovered and been 100 percent since...like I said, I didn’t think there was a world [where] I’d fail a physical. So, I’m just excited to play.”
Mark Williams may not have ended up a Laker, but he still has a promising future ahead of him alongside LaMelo Ball if he can continue to stay upright and healthy.