Hornets stun Heat in OT
Charlotte knocked off Miami in overtime during the April 14 NBA play‑in, advancing the Hornets past the Heat. ( ) Full‑game highlights and studio reaction flagged clutch late scoring and critical defensive stops that turned the game in Charlotte’s favor. (youtube.com)
Charlotte survived Miami 127-126 in overtime on Tuesday, April 14, on LaMelo Ball’s layup with 4.7 seconds left and Miles Bridges’ block at the buzzer. (nba.com) (apnews.com) Ball finished with 30 points and 10 assists, Bridges added 28 points and nine rebounds, and Coby White hit a turnaround three-pointer with 10.8 seconds left in regulation to force overtime. (espn.com) (nba.com) Miami got 28 points from Davion Mitchell, 27 from Andrew Wiggins and 23 from Tyler Herro, but its last possession ended when Bridges rejected Mitchell’s layup attempt at the rim. (espn.com) (apnews.com) The game was an elimination matchup between the Eastern Conference’s ninth and 10th seeds, so Charlotte moved on and Miami’s season ended Tuesday night in Charlotte. (nba.com) (statmuse.com) Charlotte entered the play-in at 44-38, Miami at 43-39, and the Hornets now head to Friday’s road game against the loser of Wednesday’s Philadelphia 76ers-Orlando Magic game for the East’s final playoff berth. (nba.com) (statmuse.com) The result kept alive Charlotte’s push for its first playoff appearance since 2016 and delivered the franchise’s first postseason home win in 10 years, according to ESPN. (nba.com) (espn.com) Miami had won the regular-season series 3-1, and its game notes said the Heat had won 10 of the previous 12 meetings entering Tuesday. Charlotte also came in after a 33-16 finish since Jan. 1, its best sustained stretch of the season. (nba.com 1) (nba.com 2) The Heat also lost Bam Adebayo to a lower back injury in the second quarter, and ESPN reported the defeat will leave Miami out of the playoffs for the first time since the 2018-19 season. (espn.com) Hornets coach Charles Lee said the Spectrum Center crowd matched what he had imagined for a postseason game, while Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said his team felt “worthy to win” even after the loss. (espn.com) Charlotte opened the postseason with the exact kind of finish the play-in was built to produce: one late layup, one last stop, and one more game still on the schedule. (nba.com)
