Miles Bridges and LaMelo Ball led the Charlotte Hornets with good performances. Even though the Hornets were shorthanded, they outplayed the Miami Heat for the majority of the night. The Heat made a late comeback to win the game, 104-103.
PJ Washington, Jalen McDaniels and Cody Martin got the starting nod in place of injured Terry Rozier, Mason Plumlee and Gordon Hayward (health and safety protocol). The Hornets got off to a slow start, but they used most of the first half to slowly close the gap. A late surge, let by point guard LaMelo Ball, gave the Hornets a four point lead heading into the locker room.
Ball and Bridges came out aggressive to start the second half, with assistance from Cody Martin, but the two teams played the third quarter evenly. The Hornets built what seemed to be a formidable lead during the first six minutes of the fourth quarter, leading by as many as 13 points, while both teams brought in their reserves to finish the game.
Backup point guard Ish Smith hit a short jump shot to give the Hornets a 103-91 lead, with 3:37 left in the game. They would not score another point for the remainder of the game. The Heat went on a 13-0 run with their bench to take the game in the final moments. Javonte Smart ended up hitting a layup and getting fouled to put the Heat up by one in the closing seconds of the game.
Bridges and Ball played like up-and-coming stars. Bridges finished with a double-double, 22 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Ball had a near triple double with 19 points, nine assists and eight boards in just 26 minutes of play.
Cody Martin played his best game as a Hornet. He scored 15 points and connected on three shots from deep. He showed what he is capable of and played with confidence.
Rookie James Bouknight got more time with the first unit Monday night and continued to show his scoring prowess, finishing the contest with 14 points. However, he did display some growing pains and indecisiveness that led to turnovers and questionable shot attempts. He should get better with those areas of his game as the season goes on.
PJ Washington had some okay moments but fouled out in the middle of the third quarter and did not have a high shooting percentage from the field. Jalen McDaniels, Nick Richards and Wes Iwundu rounded out the regular rotation. They did not do anything of significance.
Omer Yurtseven, who has not yet played a regular season game in the NBA, played relatively well with eight points and eight rebounds for Miami.
Bam Adebayo, who was the starting center on the U.S. Men’s Olympic Team, showed that he could knock down a mid-range jump shot consistently. With this new wrinkly in his game, the Heat could use him in several different ways.
Kyle Lowry continues to play well for his new team, with 15 points, while shooting 5-12 from the field and 50% from behind the arc. He also handed out five assists.
Tyler Herro finished the game with seven points. He shot horrendously from the field, 3-15 and 0-7 from three-point range.
The Hornets will finish the preseason Wednesday night against the Dallas Mavericks.
