The Charlotte Hornets were the hottest team in the NBA entering Friday’s clash with the Miami Heat at Spectrum Center. The Hornets had won six games in a row, each by at least 15 points, and were expected to continue on their winning ways against this Heat outfit. The visitors were on a three-game winning streak of their own, but were on the second night of a back-to-back.
The Hornets had the rest advantage, but the Heat still surprisingly took them down 128-120. The hosts had led for much of the night, but were unable to put the visitors away and have now dropped to 32-32 on the season.
So, how did the Heat pull off this upset win and improve to 35-29? Well, here are four reasons!
1. A Tyler Herro Masterclass
Tyler Herro tends to split opinion, but he was at his absolute best against the Hornets.
Herro almost put up a triple-double, finishing with 33 points (11-20 FG), nine rebounds, nine assists, and one steal on the night. He set a new season-high for points and assists, and tied his season-high for rebounds. It was an exceptional display.
The Hornets had erupted for 40 points in the third quarter, and Herro ensured the Heat kept pace with them with 12 points and three assists in the period. He then added another eight points in the fourth to help them come away with the win.
2. Dru Smith Leads The Charge Defensively Down The Stretch
The Hornets had racked up 101 points heading into the fourth quarter, and it looked very likely they’d hit the 130-point mark for the third time in six games. They didn’t even get close, though.
The Hornets only managed to score 19 points in the fourth quarter, going 7-21 (33.3%) from the field. To make matters worse, they couldn’t take care of the ball either.
Heat guard Dru Smith had four steals in that fourth quarter. Smith was extremely disruptive and managed to haul in two offensive rebounds as well.
Another defensive standout in that fourth quarter was Kel’el Ware. Ware had four blocks in the fourth to slow down that sizzling Hornets offense. Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra hasn’t always come across as his biggest fan, but he’d have loved what he saw from the big man here.
3. Bam Adebayo Starts Slow, But Finishes Strong
For the longest time, it seemed like Bam Adebayo was going to have one of his worst offensive games of the season here. Adebayo was 1-5 from the field in the first quarter and wasn’t playing much better as the game went on. Entering the fourth quarter, the big man had 12 points on 5-16 shooting.
Fortunately for the Heat, Adebayo came alive in the fourth quarter. He had 12 points and four rebounds in the fourth to help them pull away from the Hornets and get a crucial win.
Adebayo finished with 24 points (10-26 FG), 12 rebounds, four assists, one steal, and one block. You want your best players to step up when it matters most, and he did here.
4. A Rough Night For LaMelo Ball
While the two stars for the Heat impressed, the biggest one on the Hornets did not. LaMelo Ball recorded 21 points (7-22 FG), two rebounds, five assists, and one steal on the night. Ball was inefficient like Adebayo, but unlike him, he disappeared in the fourth quarter.
Ball was scoreless in the fourth (0-4 FG) and also committed two turnovers. You are not going to win too many games when your big star goes cold the way he did down the stretch.
Hornets rookie Kon Knueppel was pretty much the only one who was delivering on offense for the visitors. Knueppel had nine points in the fourth, and this game could have ended differently had he gotten more support.
You’d have expected Knueppel to get it from Brandon Miller, who had 19 points in the first half. Rather bizarrely, though. Miller only attempted three shots in the entire second half and was scoreless in the fourth. The Hornets failed to ride the hot hand and paid the price.
