Charlotte Hornets top Miami Heat 127-126 in OT thriller 

NBAE

LaMelo Ball paced the Charlotte Hornets with 30 points and 10 assists in their 127-126 win against the Miami Heat in the play-in round April 14 at Spectrum Center.

The Charlotte Hornets delivered a thrilling victory in front of a sold-out Spectrum Center.

Charlotte beat the Miami Heat 127-126 Tuesday in the play-in game on a go-ahead layup by guard LaMelo Ball with just over 5 seconds in overtime. Coby White allowed the Hornets get to overtime with a three-pointer to tie the game at 114 with 10 seconds in regulation. 

“It just shows the character of the team,” Charlotte coach Charles Lee said. “I think at the end of the day, execution is not always going to be perfect, but I think that these guys find a way to stick with it and not give in to sometimes when things aren't going well or not going your way. I think that’s where I’ve seen the most growth and maturity from our group is just finding a way to respond.”

A scary play happened early in the game on a drive to the basket by Ball, who went to the ground and replay showed his hand contacting the back of Miami center Bam Adebayo’s leg. Adebayo left the game and didn’t return. 

“I apologize on that one,” Ball said. “I got hit in the head. [I] didn’t really know where I was, but I am going to check on [Adebayo] and see if he is OK and everything. … I was just playing basketball, but like I said, I am going to check [on Adebayo].”

Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said after the game that what Ball did was ejection-worthy.

“Somebody has got to see that,” Spoelstra said. “[Ball] should have been thrown out of the game for that.”

Ball finished with 30 points and 10 assists to lead Charlotte. White scored 14 of his 19 points in the third quarter where the basket seemed as big a hula hoop. 

“[White] has been huge since he got here,” Lee said. “He showed who he is again tonight in a big moment, in a win or go home game. Even he didn’t have a great first half. I thought he just continued to stick with it and found his way and came up with big plays down the stretch.”

Another key contributor with play-in game experience was forward Miles Bridges, who logged a team-high 43 minutes. He scored 28 points on 10-for-18 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds as well. 
“I love what he gave us on the defensive end,” Lee said. “His communication in the coverages and then to come back in and help us rebound. And then early on, the offensive physicality that he showed too with some of his screening, understanding where the mismatches were, and taking advantage of them early the clock really helped us.”

Bridges said that as a leader it was important to make sure that in a game of highs and lows to make sure the team stays locked on the goal. 

“We just stayed together throughout it all,” he said. “It was an up and down game but that is what the play-in is all about. … [We had to] just stay in the moment. When they trapped [Ball] and got the turnover, we just had to move on to the next play. In basketball, you always have to move on to the next play and can’t let the last play affect you, and that is what we do.”

Forward Kon Knueppel had an off game by his standard with six points on 2-of-12 shooting and five rebounds. Bridges said he would talk to the rookie but isn’t too worried about Knueppel’s performance.
“Kon is a big part of our team,” Bridges said. “He is a rookie at the same time. I’m for sure going to talk to him, but Kon is even-keeled and I’m not really worried about him. When he has bad games, he comes back the next game and does what he is supposed to do.”

With Miami out of the way, there is still another game to be won for the Hornets to make the playoffs. They play the Orlando-Philadelphia play-in loser for the eighth overall seed in the East. 

“The Hive showed up,” Bridges said of the fans. “We got them a win, so I know they are happy about that, but at the same time we still have one more game until the real deal starts and we want to lock in on that… move on to the next one.”

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