DENNIS SMITH JR.

LaMelo Ball’s first home game of the season didn’t go anywhere near as well as the All-Star point guard hoped.

An MRI shows point guard LaMelo Ball has only a sprained left ankle and no significant long-term injury.

LaMelo Ball returned from a 21-game absence with 11 points, leading the Charlotte Hornets to a 107-94 victory over the Detroit Pistons.

Houston Rockets guard Victor Oladipo (7) shoots as Detroit Pistons center Isaiah Stewart (28) defends during the fourth quarter of an NBA basketball game Friday, March 19, 2021, in Houston. (Troy Taromina/Pool Photo via AP)HOUSTON – Frank Jackson had a season-high 23 points and the Detroit Pistons handed the Houston Rockets their franchise-record 19th straight loss, 113-100 on Friday night. The injury-plagued Rockets were playing just their fourth game of the season where Christian Wood, Victor Oladipo and John Wall were all available. Wall had 21 points and seven assists, Oladipo had 19 points, and Wood 18 points and 11 rebounds. Rockets: Wall was charged with a flagrant foul on a second-quarter collision with Frank Jackson and later received a technical foul for arguing with officials in the third quarter.

(AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)NEW YORK – Derrick Rose is reuniting with Tom Thibodeau after a trade that brings him back to New York. The Knicks agreed to acquire the former NBA MVP from the Detroit Pistons on Sunday, a person with knowledge of the details said. The Knicks will send Dennis Smith Jr. and a second-round pick to the Pistons, the person told The Associated Press. Once it is, it reunites Rose with Thibodeau, his coach in Chicago when the guard became the youngest MVP in NBA history at 22 in 2011. Rose later spent one season in New York, averaging 18 points in 2016-17, before rejoining Thibodeau again in Minnesota.

Kawhi Leonard scored 28 points and the Clippers rang up the highest point total of the season against the New York Knicks on Sunday, winning 129-115 for their 10th victory in 11 games. The Clippers shredded the NBA leaders in fewest points per game allowed to break away after leading by one at halftime. The game's start time was moved up four hours by the NBA to 1 p.m., though neither that nor the Knicks' good early shooting seemed to bother the Clippers. Leonard and Jackson each scored 10 points in the period, when the Clippers made five 3-pointers and scored 35 points, taking a 101-91 lead to the fourth. Knicks: The Knicks' previous high for points allowed was 121 to Indiana in their season opener.