NBA: LaMelo Ball reinjures his ankle as Hornets loss to Pacers, while Curry scores 50 in defeat

Tyrese Haliburton had 22 points and 11 assists, Myles Turner added 20 points and 10 rebounds as the Indiana Pacers defeated Charlotte 125-113 – with Hornet’s All-Star guard LaMelo Ball re-injuring his left ankle after stepping on the foot of a fan stepped.

Bennedict Mathurin had 20 points off the bench, including Indiana’s first 10 points of the fourth quarter as the Pacers won for the sixth time in eight games. Buddy Hield added 19 points.

Ball finished with 26 points for the Hornets, but left with 1:34 left when he re-injured his left ankle – the same one that kept him out of the first 13 games of the season.

Ball was injured trying to stop a ball from going out of bounds near where coach Steve Clifford was standing, but stepped on the foot of a fan sitting on the right and rolled his ankle as he tried to brace himself to go into the crowd. He immediately stumbled to the bench and then headed straight for the locker room.

Hornet’s All-Star guard LaMelo Ball injured his left ankle again after stepping on a fan’s foot

Tyrese Haliburton brings the ball against the Charlotte Hornets during the second half

There was no immediate word on the extent of the injury.

“He rolled it on the base of a fan, I’m told,” said Clifford. “Hopefully it’s okay, but I’m sure we won’t know anything tomorrow.”

Ball was unavailable for comment after the game.

It was Ball’s third game back but his first at home and he received a huge ovation during the pre-game warm-ups.

As the Hornets are plagued with injuries – Cody Martin, Gordon Hayward and Dennis Smith Jr. are also out – the Pacers (7-6) just seem to roll on.

Ball drives to basket while being guarded by Indiana Pacers Andrew Nembhard before getting hurt

SUNS 130, WARRIORS 119

Cameron Payne scored a career-high 29 points, Devin Booker added 27 as the Phoenix Suns easily overcame Stephen Curry’s 50-point night to beat the Golden State Warriors 130-119 on Wednesday.

The Suns controlled most of the game despite Curry’s scoring. The eight-time All-Star made 17 of 28 shots, with 7 of 11 coming from 3-point range.

The problem for the Warriors was that no one else helped. Klay Thompson finished with 19 points, but only shot 6 of 17. The Warriors – defending NBA champions – fell to 6-9.

Curry’s goal-scoring prowess is expected, but it was offset by one of the best games of Payne’s career. Starting in place of the injured Chris Paul, the 6-foot-3 guard made 9 of 17 shots, including 6 of 10 from outside the arc.

The Suns led 103-89 going into the fourth quarter. The Warriors quickly cut that margin, but got no closer than eight points. Damion Lee hit back-to-back 3-pointers against his former team to comfortably keep the Suns ahead.

The Suns shot 21 of 40 (52.5 percent) from 3-point range. Mikal Bridges had 23 points and made 5 of 8 3-pointers.

Golden State Warriors’ Steph Curry shoots ball during the game against the Phoenix Suns

KELTICS 126, HAWKS 101

Jaylen Brown scored 22 points to lead a balanced Boston offense and the Celtics leading the East extended their winning streak to eight with a 126-101 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night.

The Celtics missed injured guards Marcus Smart and Malcolm Brogdon. It hardly mattered.

There were enough players to fill the gap against the Hawks, who had a big win in Milwaukee and were eager to show they could challenge the best in the conference. Not on this evening.

Boston took the lead in the first quarter against the cold-shooting Hawks, whose spurts were quickly stifled by the Celtics’ stifling defense.

Trae Young led the Hawks with 27 points, but was held to 10-of-23 shooting, including only 2 of 7 from outside the arc.

Jaylen Brown (7) shoots over Atlanta Hawks center Clint Capela (15) during the first half of the action.

KNICKS 106, NUGGETS 103

Julius Randle scored a season-high 34 points and the New York Knicks took advantage of Nikola Jokic’s absence to win in Denver for the first time in 16 years, getting past the Nuggets 106-103 on Wednesday night.

Randle hit 1 of 2 free throws to break a tie with 50.6 seconds remaining. Jalen Brunson added 21 points, including two free throws with 10.5 seconds remaining.

The Knicks handed a team its first home loss for the second straight night after winning in Utah on Tuesday. Denver’s loss left the NBA without undefeated teams at home.

Jokic, the league’s two-time reigning MVP, was placed on COVID-19 protocols on Tuesday.

Jamal Murray scored 21 points for Denver, but was only 7 of 20 from the field and his desperate three-point effort at the buzzer was an airball.

Bones Hyland returned from COVID-19 protocols and also scored 21 points for the Nuggets, who were outscored 8-0 to close out the game. Denver had nine consecutive wins against New York and last lost at home to the Knicks on November 8, 2006.

Julius Randle #30 of the New York Knicks drives to the basket against the Denver Nuggets

BUCKS 113, CAVALIERS 98

Brook Lopez shot 7 for 9 from 3-point range to score 29 points and Milwaukee defeated skidding Cleveland.

The Cavaliers have lost five games in a row since they started 8-1.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 16 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists for the Bucks. Jordan Nwora had a season-high 21 points to help the Bucks surpass the Cavaliers 45-20 in bench points.

Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland each had 23 points for the Cavaliers.

Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of Milwaukee Bucks shoots a free throw vs. Cleveland Cavaliers

PELICANS 124, BULLS 110

CJ McCollum scored 23 points, Jonas Valanciunas added 22 points and New Orleans entered its second straight game without Zion Williamson in the lineup, beating Chicago.

Trey Murphy III hit five 3s to finish with 19 points and 10 rebounds for his first career double-double, and the Pelicans combined for 17 3-pointers en route to their third consecutive overall win and fourth in five matches.

DeMar DeRozan scored 28 points and Zach LaVine had 25 for Chicago. The Bulls have lost three in a row, starting with their home loss to New Orleans on November 9.

With Williamson watching from the bench with a bruised right foot, New Orleans opened up a whopping 26-point lead as Naji Marshall’s 3 made it 108-82 with 8:10 left in the fourth quarter.

CJ McCollum #3 of the New Orleans Pelicans dribbles the ball against the Chicago Bulls

MISSILES 101, MAVERICKS 92

Kevin Porter Jr. had 17 points and 11 rebounds and eight assists as last-place Houston took advantage of Luka Doncic’s absence in a win over Dallas.

Doncic was out one night before halftime after playing 40 minutes to prevent the Mavericks from taking a 25-point lead in a two-point victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.

Traded to Dallas in the offseason after rising from a journeyman to a 20-point scorer for the Rockets, Christian Wood scored 26 points in his first game against his former team.

OG Anunoby (3) goes to shoot a basket as Miami Heat guard Max Strus (31) defends

TIMBERWOLVES 126, MAGIC 108

Anthony Edwards scored 35 points, Karl-Anthony Towns added 30 as Minnesota beat Orlando after leading by 27 points in the first half.

Edwards and Towns scored season highs and the Timberwolves shot 52.3 percent in their biggest winning margin of the season.

Rudy Gobert, the NBA’s leading rebounder, had 16 points and eight rebounds to help Minnesota win back-to-back road games for the first time this season.

Bol Bol led the Magic with a career-high 26 points and added 12 rebounds.

Anthony Edwards (1) shoots the ball against the Orlando Magic in the first quarter at Amway Center

THUNDER 121, WIZARDS 120

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hit a 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds left to tie a career high with 42 points in Oklahoma City’s victory over Washington.

Alexander scored 30 points in the second half, scoring nine of ten field goals.

Kristips Porzingis scored 27 points for Washington, which ended their four-game winning streak.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) dribbles onto court during the first half against Washington Wizards

RAPTORS 112, HEAT 104

OG Anunoby scored a season-high 32 points and tied his season-high with 10 rebounds and Toronto used a 21-0 run in the third quarter to defeat Miami, ending the Heat’s winning streak at three.

Fred VanVleet returned from illness and scored 23 points to help Toronto extend its home winning streak to four. The Raptors are 6-1 at home this season.

Scottie Barnes added 19 points, Chris Boucher had 15 and Thad Young had 12. Anunoby shot 13 for 18, tying his career high for field goals.

Miami’s Max Strus scored 20 points and Kyle Lowry had 19 against his former team.

Kevin Porter Jr. #3 of the Houston Rockets goes for the rebound against the Dallas Mavericks