NBA Notes: Hawks, Jalen Johnson, Hornets, LaMelo Ball, Magic

Hawks

Jalen Johnson is playing like a star and looking the part every night.

On Sunday, he took another leap, dropping a career-high 41 points in a double-overtime win over the Sixers. Twelve of those came in the extra periods, where the Hawks basically handed him the steering wheel and told him to drive.

Coach Quin Snyder loved the poise.

“When he’s made mistakes, he hasn’t let it get to him,” Snyder told Lauren Williams of the Atlanta Journal Constitution. “He’s responded and adjusted. That’s the sign of a more mature player. We’re trusting him to make a play, and that’s the thing he’s embracing.”

Over his last 10 games, Johnson is averaging 25.4 points, 11 rebounds and 9.1 assists. That is All-Star stuff. And he’s only in Year One of a five-year, $150 million deal.

“I’m just trusting my work,” Johnson said. “When you got that recipe, only good things happen.”

Hornets

Charles Lee wants LaMelo Ball to shape games even when the shots aren’t falling.

Ball’s name keeps surfacing in rumors, and Lee wants the franchise guard to make his presence felt defensively too.

“We talk about that a good amount,” Lee told Roderick Boone of the Charlotte Observer. “Now we have to back it up with our actions game after game, day after day. This is the standard.

“When he plays at that high of a level, he makes our team different and really special.”

Magic

Paolo Banchero still isn’t quite ready. The All-Star forward hasn’t played since Nov. 12 because of a left groin strain and will miss tonight’s game against the Bulls.

He remains in the non-contact phase of rehab.

“We just continue to see and monitor how he responds to each treatment each day,” coach Jamahl Mosley said, via Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel.

Even without Banchero, the Magic are top 10 in offensive and defensive rating.

Their offense sits eighth, a massive jump from last season, thanks to Desmond Bane and some tweaks to the coaching setup.