Hornets survive OT scare
The Charlotte Hornets escaped an overtime thriller to keep their playoff hopes alive in the NBA play‑in, edging out the Miami Heat in a tight elimination game. Coverage described the contest as chaotic and said Charlotte’s win sent them onward in the play‑in sequence on April 14. (nytimes.com) (cbssports.com)
Charlotte stayed alive on April 14, beating Miami 127-126 in overtime in the Eastern Conference No. 9-versus-No. 10 play-in game at Spectrum Center. (nba.com) LaMelo Ball scored 30 points and 10 assists, then made the go-ahead layup with 4.7 seconds left in overtime. Miles Bridges sealed it by blocking Davion Mitchell at the buzzer. (espn.com) Miami got 28 points from Mitchell, 27 from Andrew Wiggins and 23 from Tyler Herro, but the Heat were eliminated with the loss. Bam Adebayo left in the second quarter after a hard fall and did not return. (espn.com) (nba.com) The play-in is the National Basketball Association’s four-team race for the last two playoff spots in each conference. Teams seeded seventh and eighth play for the No. 7 seed, while the No. 9 and No. 10 teams meet in an elimination game like Charlotte and Miami did Tuesday. (nba.com) Charlotte entered as the No. 9 seed at 44-38 and now moves on to Friday’s game for the East’s No. 8 seed. The Hornets will travel to face the loser of the April 15 game between the Philadelphia 76ers and Orlando Magic. (nba.com 1) (nba.com 2) The Hornets had not reached the playoffs since 2016, and this season was their highest win total since that 2015-16 team. They closed the regular season 33-16 after January 1 to get into this position. (nba.com) The game turned messy before it turned decisive. Adebayo fell hard after Ball, on the floor after a missed drive, appeared to grab Adebayo’s leg; Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Ball should have been ejected, while Ball said afterward that he apologized. (apnews.com) (usatoday.com) Charlotte also survived despite getting outshot from the field, 48 percent to 44 percent, because it won the glass 54-48 and committed one fewer turnover. The Hornets took 113 shots to Miami’s 103 in a game that needed every extra possession. (usatoday.com) Now the Hornets are one win from the franchise’s first playoff berth in a decade. After 53 minutes against Miami, they still have Friday left to finish the job. (nba.com)
