LaMelo Ball (left) celebrates with Tre Mann during Wednesday's game between the Charlotte Hornets and Houston Rockets.

HOUSTON — LaMelo Ball looked like the superstar that nagging ankle injuries have kept him from being for most of the last two seasons in the Charlotte Hornets' opener on Wednesday night.

Playing in a regular-season game for the first time since Jan 26, Ball shone with 34 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds to lead the Hornets to a 110-105 win over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday.

Ball made four 3-pointers and all 10 of his free throws to help Charlotte overturn an 18-point first-half deficit.

Ball was encouraged by how the team came together after struggling early in the game.

"First game, you want to just come out and set a tone," Ball said.

Jalen Green led the Rockets with 28 points, while Alperen Sengun added 25 points and 18 rebounds. Fred VanVleet put up 14 points and Amen Thompson scored all 13 of his points in the first half for Houston.

Charlotte, however, turned a 10-0 run, bridging the third and fourth periods, into an 85-83 lead when Ball fed Miles Bridges for a transition alley-oop. Green responded with five consecutive points to push the Rockets back in front, but the Hornets repeatedly produced answers.

Ball carried the Hornets home down the stretch, following an errant 3-pointer, with a second-chance basket for a 100-98 lead with 2:10 left.

Ball added a 3-pointer 30 seconds later, before assisting on a Grant Williams 3-pointer with 40.3 seconds left that snapped a 103-103 deadlock.

Tre Mann chipped in 24 points off the Charlotte bench, terrorizing the Rockets' defense off the dribble en route to 8-for-16 shooting that included 4-for-8 success from 3-point range.

Bridges contributed 10 points and nine assists for the Hornets.

The Hornets are counting on Ball to be on the court a lot more than he has been in recent years as they attempt to end an eight-year playoff drought.

He was the third overall pick in the 2020 draft and was named Rookie of the Year that season, before making the All-Star game in his second year.

However, he soon began to struggle with ankle injuries and was limited to just 58 games combined in the last two seasons as a result.

Now that he seems to have put those problems behind him, first-year coach Charles Lee was asked what a healthy Ball does for his team. "He's like the engine for us," he said.

"If we have a healthy LaMelo Ball, we're going to do a lot of really good things, because I know that he's going to continue to grow, and he helps everyone around him continue to be better, too."

The 23-year-old Ball was all smiles after the game, and reflected on being back on the court after his tough stretch.

"It's blessings, just doing what we love," he said. "We grew up playing basketball, so to be able to still do it for your living is an amazing feeling."

Lee said that Ball has been consistent in his commitment to being great since their first phone call after he was hired, and raved about his young star.

"He wants to be someone who earns the trust of his teammates and his coaches, and wants to be a winner and wants to impact winning," Lee said.

"So I told him what I think is going to help us impact winning, and I think that you saw him implementing that tonight, with some of his defensive efforts, some of the multiple efforts that he made, and then offensively playing with the pass and driving. So, I'm all around excited for him."