Charlotte Hornets lost a close one to the Miami Heat Wednesday night, losing 108-101. Its snaps Charlotte’s two-game winning streak, while the Heat are 20-4 in last 24 games, it’s the NBA’s best record in that time span. Hornets back-up center Miles Plumlee (right calf strain), back-up forward Frank Kaminsky (sprained left shoulder) were both this game for the Hornets. While Johnny O’Bryant left early in the second quarter and would not return with a sprained right ankle, also Nic Batum missed a stretch of the second half with a sprained left ankle but would return. The first half of this game was back and forth, both teams going up eight or nine at one point in the first half, but at halftime, the game would be all tied up at 54 apiece. Miami opened the fourth quarter on a 15-3 run to take a 96-89 lead, Charlotte would cut it to four on a Kemba jumper with about two minutes left, the Heat got an offensive rebound from Waiters and Whiteside on the same possession, one that would last for more than a minute. Waiters capped the possession by hitting an acrobatic three-pointer with 45 seconds left to put Heat up 105-98. Kemba Walker stole a pass and had a fast break opportunity but missed the layup with 25 seconds, one that would’ve have cut the Heat lead to just two. But, the Heat would make some free throws and hold on for the win.
The MVP for the Hornets this game would be Kemba Walker who scored 33 points in three-quarter (didn’t score in the first quarter). If it wasn’t for Kemba Walker the Hornets would have not been in this game late. When the Hornets were down double-digits in the second and third quarters, Coach Clifford put in Kemba and the Hornets would make a run and either tie it up or take the lead. The things I had concerns about the Hornets this game was the 13 offensive rebounds for the Heat that turned into 16-second chance points and while the Heat lead 38-16 in bench points, you cannot win when you get that big of a disadvantage in bench point and second chance points. The most frustrating play of the night was when the Heat grabbed two offensive rebounds on the same possession late in the fourth quarter after the Hornets had cut the lead to four with two minutes left in the game. It's frustrating because the first rebound the Heat got, Waiters was by himself and could dribble it back out which was understandable. But the second offensive rebound the Hornets should’ve grabbed it, when Waiters missed the three-pointer both Batum and Zeller was in positions to grab it, but Batum just stood there while Zeller started running back on offensive without even trying to grab the ball, allowing Whiteside to grab it and pass it back out to Waiters that would eventually hit a gut-wrenching three-pointer that helped sealed the victory for the Heat. That’s the biggest and most frustrating play of the game for the Hornets, especially since Zeller is known for his screen setting and rebounding and if one of them would’ve grabbed it, it would’ve been a completely different game. The leading scorers for the Hornets were Nicolas Batum with 16 points 7 rebounds 4 steals, Marvin Williams with 14 points 12 rebounds, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist with 12 points. The leading scorers for the Heat were Dion Waiters with 24 points, Goran Dragic with 22 points 10 assists, Luke Babbitt with 12 points, Hassan Whiteside with 10 points 15 rebounds. Charlotte Hornets (28-36) host the Orlando Magic Friday, Hornets are 2-0 against the Magic this season.
