The Charlotte Hornets defeated the Dallas Mavericks 117-90 to earn their fifth straight victory on Tuesday night.
Brandon Miller had 17 points, while LaMelo Ball tallied 15 points and nine assists, leading the Hornets to reach .500 for the first time since Oct.28 when they were 2-2.
The Hornets played on the first of a back-to-back and got tremendous production from their bench, with backups shooting 12 of 21 from the three-point line.
Grant Williams made four three-pointers, Josh Green and Sion James had three each and Pat Connaughton had two.
On the other hand, Brandon Williams led the Mavericks with 18 points, and now lost 14 of 16.
Charlotte had a season-high 31 fouls as Dallas went to the free-throw line 42 times, making 31.
The Maverciks made only 3 off 22 from beyond the arc and could never get any momentum in the second half, making just 11 field goals.
The Hornets built a 57-48 lead at halftime after holding the Mavs to 42.5% shooting from the floor, but extended the lead to 22 in the closing seconds of the third quarter.
Meanwhile, 19,159 crowd attendance showed up at the Spectrum Center hoping to see a rematch of the Jan. 30 match-up between Kon Knueppel and Cooper Flagg, being the top two candidates for NBA Rookie of the Year.
Flagg had 49 points in that game, while Knueppel had 34 points, including eight three-pointers, and the Hornets won 123-121.
However, Flagg was ruled out ahead of the game with a midfoot strain and Knueppel suffered through one of the worst games of his young career as he finished 1 of 7 from the three for 13 points.
Both teams will play road games on their next matchup: the Mavericks at Orlando on Thursday, while Charlotte at Boston on Wednesday.
