LaMelo Ball appeared to be in a lot of pain and didn’t put any weight on his left leg as he was helped to the locker room.
HOUSTON (AP) — Charlotte Hornets point guard LaMelo Ball left Wednesday night’s game against the Houston Rockets after spraining his left ankle again.
Ball was injured when teammate P.J. Washington landed on him after jumping to try for a rebound with about nine minutes left in the third quarter. Ball appeared to be in a lot of pain and didn’t put any weight on his left leg as he was helped to the locker room.
The team then ruled Ball out with a sprained left ankle.
LaMelo Ball has his ankle stepped on and has to be helped to the locker room. pic.twitter.com/rQYsny7cHi
— Bally Sports: Hornets (@HornetsOnBally) January 19, 2023
The Hornets were able to hold off the reeling Rockets 122-117 to snap a five-game losing streak.
Ball said after the game he didn’t think the injury was serious and he didn’t plan to have X-rays.
“I can walk and everything, so I’ll just take it day by day and see what it is,” he said. “It (doesn’t) feel like them other ones so I think I’ll be straight.”
Ball had 13 points and four assists before exiting.
It’s the third time this season that Ball has injured the same ankle. He missed part of the preseason and the first 13 games of the season after spraining it the first time.
He played just three games before spraining it again on Nov. 16 when he stepped on a fan’s foot late in a game against Indiana. That time he missed 11 games with the injury.
