LaMelo’s OT winner
LaMelo Ball hit the go-ahead bucket in overtime to send the Charlotte Hornets past the Miami Heat in a play-in elimination game. (youtube.com) The win featured a late Mikal Bridges block that sealed the result, and it pushed Charlotte into the next stage of postseason contention. (x.com)
Charlotte survived Miami, 127-126 in overtime, on Tuesday night when LaMelo Ball scored with 4.7 seconds left and Miles Bridges blocked the final shot. (nba.com) The game was the Eastern Conference No. 9 versus No. 10 play-in matchup at Spectrum Center in Charlotte on April 14, and the loss ended Miami’s season. Ball finished with 30 points and 10 assists, while Bridges added 28 points and nine rebounds. (nba.com) Charlotte needed late shots just to reach overtime. Coby White hit a turnaround 3-pointer with 10.8 seconds left in regulation, and Tyler Herro then missed a 3-point try that could have won it for Miami before the horn. (nba.com) The overtime swung twice in the final half-minute. Herro made a corner 3 and then three free throws after Ball’s foul to put Miami ahead 126-125 with 8.7 seconds left, before Ball answered with the deciding layup. (nba.com) This was an elimination game because the National Basketball Association play-in tournament gives the No. 9 and No. 10 teams no margin for error. The winner moves on to face the loser of the No. 7 versus No. 8 game for the conference’s last playoff berth, and the loser goes home. (nba.com) That means Charlotte is still alive for the East’s No. 8 seed and will play on Friday, April 17, against the loser of the Philadelphia 76ers-Orlando Magic game. The 2026 play-in runs from April 14 through April 17, and the playoffs open April 18. (nba.com) The Hornets entered the bracket after a 44-38 regular season, while Miami came in at 43-39. Charlotte’s spot was part of its best full season since 2015-16, according to the league’s game preview. (nba.com) Miami also lost Bam Adebayo to a lower back injury after a second-quarter fall, leaving the Heat without one of their central frontcourt players for the rest of the night. Davion Mitchell still scored 28 points, Andrew Wiggins had 27, and Herro added 23 in the loss. (nba.com) For Charlotte, the result kept alive a push for the franchise’s first playoff appearance in a decade. Ball had the last answer, and Bridges made sure Miami never got one. (nba.com)
