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After committing a blunder on the previous possession, LaMelo Ball more than made up for it by converting a leaning lay-in with seconds to go, and Miles Bridges swatted away Davion Mitchell’s floater at the other end. The unbelievable game-winning sequence came after Tyler Herro executed a personal 6-0 run in the waning seconds to secure what Miami must have imagined were the winning points. In an enthralling 9/10 play-in game that resembled an Elite Eight matchup (think 1992 Duke / Kentucky), Charlotte solved the Heat’s defensize zone late in the fourth quarter and Coby White sent the game to overtime with a catch-and-shoot three straddling the sideline – his fifth one in the second half. Brandon Miller and Miles Bridges then carried the Hornets to play-in glory with Ball’s points finishing Miami off.
Charlotte’s shooting touch betrayed them for wide swaths of the fourth quarter while Miami took advantage of the frequent misses to jump ahead for good. After rolling out a zone defense to start the fourth quarter, the Heat pieced together a 11-2 run to pull themselves ahead of Charlotte. For the Hornets, it was the B’s – LaMelo Ball (15) and Miles Bridges (17) that put up 32 points together to pace Charlotte in the first half and trade deadline acquisition White who detonated a barrage of threes on the Heat in a third quarter comeback.
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Ball (26 points and 6 assists) and Bridges (28 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 blocks – including the game preserving one) excelled in the Hornets’ first home playoff game in 10 seasons. The win was aided by White’s (19 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals) third quarter superboost. Brandon Miller (23 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists) caught fire in the second half, and Charlotte managed to recover 17 of their own misses to help their victorious cause. Rookie of the Year candidate Kon Kneuppel (6 points, 2-for-12 FG) was unable to overcome his recent shooting slump.
Miami’s Andrew Wiggins (27 points and 7 rebounds) and Mitchell (28 points and 6 assists) salvaged a disastrous first half injury to Bam Adebayo. Herro (23 points and 6 assists) was thisclose to…
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Publish date : 2026-04-15 02:52:00
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