LaMelo Ball scores 23, Hornets use strong fourth quarter to pull away from Wizards 126-109

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — LaMelo Ball had 23 points and nine assists, Brandon Miller added 20 points and the Charlotte Hornets pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat the Washington Wizards 126-109 on Tuesday night.

Rookie of the Year candidate Kon Knueppel finished with 19 points and provided a huge spark with five second-half 3-pointers for the Hornets. Moussa Diabate had a career-high 18 rebounds and 12 points for the Hornets and Miles Bridges flirted with a triple-double before finishing with 10 points, nine rebounds and nine assists.

Khris Middleton scored 16 points to lead the Wizards.

Charlotte entered the fourth quarter up 92-90, but used a 12-4 run — sparked by seven points from Ball — to begin to pull away.

Miller's 3 from the top of the key pushed the lead to double digits with 5 minutes remaining and Knueppel buried three more 3s to give the Hornets breathing room.

In Charlotte's last game, Knueppel became the fastest rookie to reach 100 3-pointers. He missed both 3-point attempts in the first half, but connected on 5 of 7 from beyond the arc after halftime.

The Hornets outscored the Wizards 34-19 in the fourth quarter and made 20 of 50 3s for the game.

The Wizards led by 10 in the first half, but the Hornets climbed back to within 65-62 at the break behind Diabate, who was dominant on the glass with 13 rebounds before the break. Diabate, who saw increased playing time with centers Ryan Kalkbrenner and Miles Plumlee out with injuries, had one possession where he grabbed back-to-back offensive rebounds giving Charlotte three shots on the possession and ultimately leading to Sion James' layup.

Washington's Bub Carrington was helped to the locker room with 5 1/2 minutes left in the game with what appeared to be a lower-leg injury.

Washington: Hosts Toronto on Friday night.

Charlotte: At Orlando on Friday night.

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Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges (0) drives to the basket against Washington Wizards forward Marvin Bagley III during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)

Washington Wizards forward Marvin Bagley III (35) high-fives forward Corey Kispert after scoring against the Charlotte Hornets during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)

Charlotte Hornets forward Tidjane Salaun, left, drives to the basket against Washington Wizards center Alex Sarr (20) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)

Charlotte Hornets guard Kon Knueppel, left, drives against Washington Wizards guard Bilal Coulibaly (0) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)

Charlotte Hornets guard Collin Sexton (8) passes behind him during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Washington Wizards in Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)

ROME (AP) — Italy's soccer federation president resigned amid political pressure on Thursday, two days after the national team failed to qualify for a third consecutive World Cup.

Gabriele Gravina's decision will likely lead to the ouster of Italy coach Gennaro Gattuso, too.

Italy Sports Minister Andrea Abodi called for a change in the country’s soccer leadership after Gravina oversaw two sets of disappointing World Cup qualifiers.

“It’s evident to everyone that Italian soccer needs to be overhauled,” Abodi said on Wednesday, “and that process needs to start with new leadership at the FIGC (federation).”

Italy’s chances of reaching this year’s tournament in North America ended on Tuesday after a penalty shootout loss to Bosnia and Herzegovina in a qualifying playoff.

Gravina took charge of the federation in 2018 replacing Carlo Tavecchio, who also stepped down after Italy failed to reach that year’s World Cup.

The defeat to Bosnia added more misery for four-time champion Italy after being eliminated by Sweden and North Macedonia, respectively, in the qualifying playoffs for the last two World Cups.

Italy’s World Cup struggles go back all the way to 2010 and 2014 when it failed to advance from its group on both occasions.

The Azzurri’s last World Cup knockout match was in 2006 when they won the title by beating France in the final after a penalty shootout.

Gravina did oversee Italy’s European Championship trophy in 2021.

“Soccer has been in trouble since 2006,” Italian coaches association president Renzo Ulivieri said.

Players’ association president Umberto Calcagno said new regulations promoting the use of more Italian players in Serie A were necessary: “A rapid change needs to be made."

An election was called for June 22 to elect a new FIGC president.

Gravina also announced that he would attend a hearing in Italy’s parliament next Wednesday to discuss “the wellbeing of Italian soccer.”

Gattuso took over from the fired Luciano Spalletti in June with the squad already in crisis mode following a defeat at Norway in its opening qualifier.

The Azzurri then went on a six-match winning streak before losing again to Norway in November to finish second in their group and end up in the playoffs again.

Among those being mentioned to replace Gattuso are Roberto Mancini, Simone Inzaghi, Antonio Conte and Massimiliano Allegri.

Mancini coached Italy to the European Championship title in 2021 then failed to get the Azzurri to the next year’s World Cup before bolting to take over Saudi Arabia’s national team.

Inzaghi coached Inter Milan to the Serie A title in 2024 and now manages Saudi club Al-Hilal.

Conte coached Italy at the 2016 European Championship and is currently at Napoli.

Allegri is at AC Milan.

Gravina is also Aleksander Ceferin’s top vice president at UEFA.

UEFA statutes require that executive committee members are also senior FA officials but Gravina could stay in the UEFA role as a lame duck as long as the FIGC’s new leadership doesn’t demand his removal.

Gravina was re-elected last year by UEFA so he has three more years in his current term.

“Gabriele is my first vice president and is very important to me,” Ceferin said in Thursday’s Gazzetta dello Sport after attending the playoff in Bosnia.

Besides revitalizing the national team, whoever replaces Gravina will be tasked with getting Italy’s dilapidated stadiums ready to host the 2032 European Championship.

Italy is slated to co-host Euro 2032 with Turkey.

“I hope that the infrastructure is ready,” Ceferin said. “Otherwise the tournament won’t be played in Italy.”

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

FILE - A journalist stands at the entrance of the FIGC Italian Soccer Federation, where a logo with four stars (one for each World Cup won) is seen partly in the shade, in Rome, on Nov. 14, 2017. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, File)

Italy players react during a penalty shootout during the World Cup qualifying playoff final soccer match between Bosnia and Italy in Zenica, Bosnia, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Armin Durgut)

A broken soccer ball is pictured on a street in Rome, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Italy's Gianluigi Donnarumma walks off the pitch after losing in a World Cup qualifying playoff final soccer match between Bosnia and Italy in Zenica, Bosnia, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (Fabio Ferrari/LaPresse via AP)

Italy's coach Gennaro Gattuso walks off the pitch after losing in a World Cup qualifying playoff final soccer match between Bosnia and Italy in Zenica, Bosnia, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (Fabio Ferrari/LaPresse via AP)

Italy players react after losing in a World Cup qualifying playoff final soccer match between Bosnia and Italy in Zenica, Bosnia, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (Fabio Ferrari/LaPresse via AP)