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Hornets’ LaMelo Ball apologizes for tripping Bam Adebayo’ in Play-In win
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- Hornets’ LaMelo Ball apologizes for tripping Bam Adebayo’ in Play-In win
Hornets' LaMelo Ball apologizes for tripping Bam Adebayo' in Play-In win appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
The Charlotte Hornets ' 127-126 triumph over the Miami Heat in the 9/10 play-in tournament game did not come without its fair share of controversy. In the first quarter of the ballgame, Bam Adebayo, in a rebound battle, got tripped up by LaMelo Ball , who had fallen to the ground already. Ball's trip of Adebayo almost looked intentional , with the Hornets guard sweeping his hand underneath Adebayo's feet — causing him to fall squarely on his backside.
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This forced Adebayo, the Heat's best player on both ends of the floor, to miss the rest of the game, playing just 11 minutes in their one-point overtime defeat. Many on social media called out Ball for a purportedly dirty play. But after the Hornets' win, Ball apologized for the play and explained how the exchange came to be.
"I apologize for that one. I got hit in the head didn't really know where I was but I'm going to check on him and see if he is okay," Ball said, via Scott Fowler of the Charlotte Observer.
Ball did fall to the ground first and appeared to be hit hard, but the motion of his hand was very questionable, failing to do him any favors . The Heat were forced to play the majority of the game without their best player because of this, as Adebayo suffered a nasty blow to the backside after he was tripped down.
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Kel'el Ware did step up and give the Heat quality minutes in Adebayo's stead. But the Hornets had carte blanche in the paint in the clutch without Adebayo roaming around to defend both the paint and the perimeter.
Nonetheless, this is nothing now but a thing of the past. All Ball could do is apologize and move forward as the Hornets await which team they'll be matching up against on Friday night in the battle for the eighth-seed.
Related: Hornets' Miles Bridges is just happy to finally advance in Play-In Tournament
Related: Blake Griffin had perfect reaction to Coby White game-tying 3 in Hornets-Heat clash
