The Charlotte Hornets welcomed the Miami Heat for the third and final matchup of their season series Sunday. After dropping the first two meetings, Miami was looking for redemption at the Spectrum Center.
A back-and-forth start
A tight first quarter saw a lot of scoring from both sides. While Miami’s Bam Adebayo made some noise early, the game was balanced through the first 12 minutes of action. Miami finished the quarter on a Goran Dragic 3-point play that put them up 3, heading into the second.
Competitive play carried over to the second period. However, Miami started slowly extending their lead and creating a cushion. Though the Hornets trailed by as many as 12 in the first half, a rebound and full-court pass from LaMelo Ball to Terry Rozier for a layup at the horn cut the deficit to 7 at the break.
Miami pulls away
Miami’s third-quarter attack put a stamp on the game. Jimmy Butler came alive in the period, driving past Miles Bridges for a two-handed dunk plus a foul to give the Heat a 93-78 advantage. Big man Dewayne Dedmon also made his presence felt inside with some buckets of his own. By the quarter’s conclusion, Miami had built a 20-point lead that the Hornets would never fully recover from.
The Heat (35-30) cruised to an easy 121-111 victory over the Hornets (31-33) to secure sole possession of the 6 seed in the East.
Miami’s win, paired with Boston’s 129-119 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, put them a full game ahead of the Celtics with 7 games remaining. This is critical because the team that finishes in sixth automatically qualifies for the playoffs. Meanwhile, seeds 7 through 10 must compete in a play-in tournament to earn the seventh and eighth spots.
All about balance
The Heat put forth a balanced effort, with 6 players scoring in double figures. Adebayo finished with a routine of 20 points to go with 10 assists and 7 boards. Butler added 18 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists of his own. Second-year guard Kendrick Nunn dropped 19 points, while Dragic finished with 18 off the bench. Dedmon’s performance also impressed, as he put up 14 points and 8 rebounds in just 13 minutes off the bench.
“You want to be playing your best basketball at the right time and I’m praying, I’m hoping that right now is the right time for us to being playing our best basketball,” Butler said.
P.J. Washington led the Hornets with 21 points on 9 of 13 shooting, while Ball finished with 14 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists in his second game back from a broken wrist. The Hornets also displayed a balanced effort, with a total of 6 double-figure scorers as well.
Up Next
Miami will host the Dallas Mavericks Tuesday night at 5:00 p.m. PST. The Hornets will play at Detroit at 4:00 p.m. PST.
