Coming back from surgery to repair a broken wrist sustained on March 20, teenager Ball played 28 minutes, scoring 11 points and adding eight rebounds and seven assists.

The gifted point guard was resuming an impressive debut season since his NBL stint with the Illawarra Hawks.

His comeback included a nifty underhand pass from his own backcourt to Miles Bridges.

"You have to have top-notch confidence to pull something like that off," Bridges said. "He threw it right to my pocket. It's good to have him back."

The Hornets, who entered the day eighth in the Eastern Conference, snapped a two-game skid. They'll play in Detroit again on Tuesday.

"I expect it to only get better from here, but it was a breath of fresh air just to have that jolt back in the gym for us," Hornets coach James Borrego said of Ball's return.

"We found our way playing with pace even before this, but Melo really takes it to the next level."

Terry Rozier led Charlotte with 29 points, Bridges added 27 points on 11-of-16 shooting and PJ. Washington had 16. Malik Monk, who returned after a 15-game absence (ankle), joined Ball with 11 points.

"I felt the game coming back to me," Ball said.

Borrego feels like Ball will prove he's the Rookie of the Year in his final 10 games.

"We were climbing the standings with him in the lineup and Malik in the lineup," Borrego said. "LaMelo has had a major impact on our winning this season. For a young guy to put up those numbers, but to do it with that sort of winning impact, is significant for us."

Ball averaged 15.9 points and Monk 13.1 before their injuries.

Australian Associated Press