What the Hornets said after Ball, Bridges have a record night in win against Wizards

When trying to build a winner and establish a culture that never wanes no matter the opponent, there are a few things that have to be in place.

“You’ve got to have a way to play and play that way every night,” Charlotte Hornets coach Steve Clifford said. “It starts with an intensity level, a concentration level, togetherness, a spirit level. If you watch the good teams play or the teams that are in a good place, that’s what they do.

“Part of it comes, to me, with winning so that guys have a belief in each other and what you’re doing. A lot of it to me is the work you do between the games.”

For a while, it looked like the Hornets forgot to punch the time clock during their brief hiatus after taking down the top team in the Eastern Conference 48 hours earlier. But Charlotte, fueled by scintillating fourth-quarter performances by LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges, awoke from its slumber before it was too late, erasing a 19-point second-half deficit to secure a 117-114 victory against Washington at Spectrum Center on Wednesday night.

Ball and Bridges became the first duo in Hornets’ franchise history to post 30-plus point double-doubles in the same game. Ball’s 34 points and 13 assists and Bridges’ season-high 33 points and 11 rebounds ignited Charlotte, sparking the Hornets (5-9) against one of the worst teams in the league — and the same group of players who won here two weeks ago.

Simply put, the two were hard for Washington to stop.

“That’s what you have to have to win in the NBA,” Clifford said. “Watch the games every night. Basketball works that way where whoever has the best offensive player on the floor has a big advantage, and tonight those guys did that. If you just sit and watch NBA games, that’s every night for somebody.”

Still, the Hornets had to crank it up a notch to avoid a disastrous defeat. The key?

“Just getting energy, staying with the game,” Ball said. “Staying locked in and getting defensive stops.”

In doing so, the Hornets now finally have their first winning streak of the season. And although it took a full month, to them it was always a matter of when and not if.

“Melo’s coming back from injury, so he wasn’t playing to his full potential,” Bridges said. “So, once Melo got going and we got some of our guys back from injury, I knew that we were going to go on a little run. We’ve just got to build off this and keep going and continue to play with confidence.”

Add it to the list of the Hornets’ early-season educational lessons.

“It’s for sure something that I think tonight you learn from,” Clifford said. “Forty-eight minutes is a long time. When things aren’t going your way, you can do one of two things — you can either kind of give up, get frustrated, stop playing or you can compete hard. In both of these games, our guys stayed in it and in the huddles were positive with each other. We kept fighting.”

Here’s a few more notable things the Hornets had to say on Wednesday:

On LaMelo Ball’s play of late

“He’s just playing at an unbelievable level,” Bridges said. “He’s made the leap into a superstar. He was an All-Star , but now he’s a superstar. Like I said before, if he’s not on any of the all-NBA teams, I’ll be surprised because he’s a winner. He’s a winner and it’s showing on the court, and I’m happy for him.”

“The one thing compared to last year — and I know he didn’t play a lot of games — but he’s a lot stronger,” Clifford said. “He wasn’t able to do a lot this summer on the court necessarily or cardio even because of his foot, but he was really good in the weight room.

“I think that he maybe doesn’t look a lot bigger, but the strength guys have tests and everything, and he’s much, much, much stronger than he was even a year ago. And I think that’s allowing him — his finishing numbers around the basket are much improved, and I think a lot of it is that.”

Ball said: “I just go out there and hoop, for real. I always feel confident in myself and what I can do, so that’s pretty much it.”

On Miles Bridges being productive so quickly

“I was in the gym,” Bridges said. “So I had confidence in my game. … It’s just me getting back comfortable with the team and it’s a new coach. I’m just getting adjusted to Cliff. He’s a great coach so I’m getting in the flow of things now.”

Ball said: “I love to see it. I already told him when he gets back just stay locked in and everything’s going to happen right.”

Bridges returned last Friday against Milwaukee after serving a lengthy suspension following domestic violence charges.

On missing PJ Washington, who was a late scratch with right foot discomfort

“PJ was out and he does a lot for us,” Bridges said. “So, I knew I had to pick it up, especially on rebounding and on scoring.”

“That was a little bit part of the issue because we played lineups (where) we didn’t have a center, especially in the first half,” Clifford said. “This morning, PJ did shootaround and everything and he’s played the ‘5’ quite a bit. Miles has never played the ‘5.’ So, we had to play two 5 1/2 segments there with a team that had never played in those spots. First half, it was really bad. Second half, it was not great. But there’s nothing you can do about it.”

On what they are most thankful as they celebrate Thanksgiving

“I’m just thankful for being alive, thank God for another day,” Bridges said. “I’m thankful for my family, I’m thankful for my team, the Hornets. I’m thankful for everything.”

Ball said: “Life, just being here,” Ball said. “Being alive, being here, present. Family, just all the life stuff for real. I’ll call my people and check in on everybody, make sure they have a good day.”

Clifford said: “I’m thankful for being in this league. I love this league. I don’t know many people who enjoy their existence, their life more than I do. I feel fortunate to be around the best players in the world. We live in a world where not many people experience. From the way we travel to where we stay. And then the challenge for any group to try to help the team play consistently. So, I love my job and there’s not a lot about it that I don’t like.

“The losing is the worst part about this job. The losing sucks. Except for that, the preparation and the way you get to live … again, I don’t think many people enjoy what they do more than I do.”