Charlotte, NC — Hornets Coach Charles Lee shamelessly walks into the press room after his team’s speech 102-95 victory over New Orleans Pelicans And immediately threw myself under the proverbial bus.
An embarrassed Lee shook his head and said, “Idiot…Coach,” before sitting down to answer reporters’ questions.
Lee and lamelo ball He was involved in a man-on-man collision near the Charlotte bench in the first quarter, sending the star point guard to the locker room for investigation by trainers. Ball returned after having a 1-inch wound over his eye closed by trainers. He scored 26 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead Charlotte to its seventh consecutive win.
This bizarre incident happened when Ball was trying to save an errant pass miles bridge Near the Hornets bench. Lee, who was running down the sideline at the time, never saw the ball coming and instinctively bent to retrieve the ball.
As Lee lowered his head to receive the ball, the Hornets’ star guard charged at him and sent the second-year coach into the scorer’s table.
The ball remained on the floor for several minutes and both men held their heads. When Ball woke up, he picked up a towel and placed it over his right eye as he was taken to the locker room.
After a few minutes he returned to the bench.
Lee took full blame for the collision, saying, “I stopped a play, and you shouldn’t stop any plays.” “I thought the ball was going out of bounds and I was going to save it from going into the stands, and he was going to save the ball. We were one-on-one. To his credit, he didn’t yell at me too bad.”
Speaking to The Associated Press in the locker room after the game, Ball laughed off the collision.
“He went for the ball and I went for the ball, and obviously, our heads collided,” Ball said. “It was unfortunate, but hey, I’m still alive and breathing, so who cares? We got the win, so that’s the most important.”
Lee, who never left the sideline and continued coaching, said he liked how Ball was quick to get back into the game.
“I like his feeling of, ‘Hey, let me back up, get cleaned up and get back out there,'” Lee said. “It just shows his growth that he’s had to constantly suffer injuries or injuries like that and overcome them. He’s really helped our team.”
Ball turned over one of his better games this season, scoring 18 points in the first half and keeping the game from getting out of hand after the Hornets trailed by 22 points.
Ball made several big shots in the second half, including a rare two-handed dunk after being blown by a defender in traffic. He added five assists and finished with only two turnovers.
“It was a great job of him to answer to the stupid coach,” Lee said.
