South Beach was very kind to the visiting Hornets. The Charlotte Hornets (16-48) defeated the Miami Heat (29-35) in a Monday night road affair 105-102. Miami has been in a free fall since the trade of their six-time former All-Star Jimmy Butler to the Golden State Warriors.
The Hornets proved their toughness by showing the fortitude to come back from more than one 17-point hole in the first half and used a 14-0 third-quarter spurt to take a two-point lead, 68-66, at the halfway point of the period. The Hornets trailed by four entering the final frame but outscored the Heat 32-25 in the fourth, including a game-changing 10-0 run.
It was the third time in the first ten days of March alone that Miami dropped a game that they should not have after leading by at least 17 points, all those monumental collapses coming at home, which is not the standards set by Pat Riley. The Heat led their foes, the New York Knicks by 19 on March 2, led the Chicago Bulls by 17 on Saturday and led the Hornets by 17 in the first half.
Miles Bridges drilled a pair of crucial 3-pointers in the final minutes to help the Hornets secure a victory at South Beach, marking their first back-to-back wins since January.
“Man, it’s great,” Mark Williams said. “He’s doing everything for us: leading, rebounding, scoring, finding us, defending—you name it, he’s done it. So, shout out to MB.”
Bridges, who recorded his third 35-plus point game this month, added five rebounds, five assists and two steals. Williams provided his 13th double-double of the season with 24 points and 10 boards. LaMelo Ball had 15 points and 10 dimes for Charlotte, who were a dominate 22 for 23 from the foul line. Miami left some points on the table, shooting only 14 for 20 (70%) at the line.
Tyler Herro, Andrew Wiggins and Bam Adebayo combined for 63 points for Miami.
Rookie center Kel’el Ware earned meaningful fourth-quarter minutes for only the second time in Miami’s last six games. “He’ll definitely get his opportunities moving forward,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “Look, I get it. … If you lose games, the coach puts himself out there to be second-guessed. There’s no question about it.”
The Heat outshot Charlotte 45.9% to 41.9% and held advantages in rebounds (46-36) and points in the paint (48-44). The Hornets countered with edges in assists (26-24), steals (10-7) and blocks (6-3).
The Heat have now lost four consecutive games, their second four-game losing streak of the season.
The victory ended Charlotte’s 11-game losing streak versus Southeast Division competition.
The Hornets travel to the ATL to take on Trae Young and the Hawks at State Farm Arena on Wednesday night at 7:30 PM EST for their third get together of the season.
Miami plays the fourth game in a five-game homestand on Wednesday against James Harden and the Los Angeles Clippers.
