LaMelo Ball just experienced a first. Expect to see it more often from Hornets’ star

As LaMelo Ball dribbled the ball up the court in the final minute, most of the 14,253 patrons in attendance at Spectrum Center rose to their feet.

It was probably for their own good, anyway, given most would have likely been on the edge of their seats, gnawing their nails down to the cuticles if they weren’t standing. That’s what these Charlotte Hornets do. They take you to the brink of emotional exhaustion, laughing at the obstacles tossed in their direction.

Even on a night when they were without their top reserve against the defending NBA champions, losing Kelly Oubre for likely the bulk of the week due to health and safety protocols, the Hornets found a way to pull out one of their most gratifying wins of the season. All it took was a first by their star point guard, doing something he hadn’t accomplished yet in his tenure with the Hornets, and some poise defensively in the closing seconds to secure a thrilling 103-99 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday night.

Here’s a sign of the steady growth of the Hornets’ second-year floor general: When Terry Rozier, the No. 1 option on the original play diagrammed coming out of a timeout with 38.8 seconds remaining, couldn’t completely shake loose, Ball smartly took matters into his own hands. His contorting floater in the lane handed the Hornets (22-19) the lead for good, a shot that marked the first time Ball has drained a go-ahead bucket with less than a minute remaining in his year-plus in Charlotte.

“That’s the beauty of Melo — that he can be the playmaker or the creator to go score on his own,” coach James Borrego said. “And we need the ball in his hands. He’s a special kid, special player not afraid of the moment. And I trust him down the stretch.”

So does Rozier. Which is why, despite being hot with a team-best 27 points, he deferred to his 20-year old silky smooth backcourt mate.

“I’m pretty sure his confidence is super high no matter what type of game he has before the shot or not,” Rozier said. “We like where we’re all at. We’re very happy with him and we’re always going to trust him with the ball in his hands at the end of the game.”

Racing from right to left and knifing his way into the lane, Ball hung in the air seemingly forever, facing to his left and then contorting his body toward the basket and tossing a floater up from 5 feet and rattling it in with 15.4 seconds left. It was masterfully improvised.

“We were trying to execute something,” Ball said. “The play got kind of scrambled up, so then we threw it to T-Ro and he pretty much told me, ‘Back up.’ Took the iso and then pretty much from there, just did the floater.”

Degree of difficulty? Has to be somewhere in the neighborhood of a 10.

“It was a hell of a play, hell of a move,” Bucks guard Wesley Matthews said. “We knew they like to do a lot of slip action and he is a hell of a talent. He makes tough shots and he makes tough shots look easy. A one-foot runner, high pick over the top from right to left. Sometimes you just have to tip your hat. That is just a hell of a play by a hell of a player.

“Give credit to them. They play hard, play fast and a hell of a player made a hell of a shot.”

One he insists is just another weapon in his arsenal of moves.

“When I was young, I always played up (in age),” said Ball, who had 23 points, five rebounds and three assists. “So playing against grown people and stuff, they are all bigger. You can’t really get no shot up. So I just always did little floats. That’s pretty much how they came up.

“I always did floaters my whole life. Going left, right, straight, forward, backward. Any type of way. I felt like it was a good shot, so yeah I took it.”

By doing so and propelling the Hornets to their third win in their last four outings and second victory over the Bucks in three days, Ball is continuing his ascension to serious heights. He’s a legit candidate for next month’s All-Star Game in Cleveland and executing flawlessly in crunch-time instances like he proved against the Bucks will help his cause.

It also gives him that needed experience to engineer the offense effectively when the game is on the line and further bolsters the Hornets’ conviction in his last-minute decision-making.

“Just believing in him,” Rozier said. “We both are at the top with the ball. We both can make plays down the stretch. I kind of set that rub screen again like I did last game, but they stuck with me. He still passed me the ball. I could have went one-on-one, but just showing that I trust in him, I believe in him. He’s a playmaker and he can do whatever he wants. And we all believe in that. So he just made a play at the end and put us on top.”

Those good vibes were somewhat muted not long after they closed out the sweep of their mini three-game homestand. In the Hornets’ mind, this wasn’t the time to start celebrating and let complacency creep in. If that does happen, a reality check could well be waiting in Philadelphia on Wednesday.

Just a subtle reminder: The 76ers have beaten the Hornets in 16 straight games, currently the longest streak of domination by a single opponent in the NBA.

“The challenge is what happens in a couple of days,” Borrego said. “So either we can be satisfied with this and rest and relax — we’re halfway home — or we can build on this. If we want to keep climbing, keep getting better and move up the standings in the Eastern Conference, this is one of those wins that can propel you into that momentum. Or you can be satisfied and go, ‘We beat the NBA champions two games in a row, let’s relax and not get better.’ The group right now just responded with, ‘Let’s get better.’

“That’s what I’m going to hold them to and they are going to hold each other to the standard. This is not about resting right now. Two great wins against the NBA champions, that’s tough to do. Now it’s about building on it, using it as momentum and validation for how we have to play night-in, night-out. I’m seeing the effort on the defensive end. That’s where it’s got to be and that’s our challenge moving forward.”