While Charlotte’s primary long-range scorers, LaMelo Ball and Kon Knueppel, struggled with their shots, Coby White maintained his scoring touch.
The Hornets’ mid-season pickup successfully pushed the game into an extra period by making crucial three-pointers versus the Miami Heat during their Tuesday evening contest.
Ball subsequently compensated for his inefficient shooting and a critical late error by sinking a decisive layup in the dying moments, securing a 127-126 victory.
Ball’s late critical errors
Moments earlier, Ball had committed a crucial foul on Tyler Herro as Herro attempted and failed to convert a shot from beyond the arc.
Herro had recently connected on a three-pointer, narrowing Charlotte’s advantage to 125-123. Ball then lost possession of the ball on Charlotte’s subsequent offensive play and followed it with an ill-advised foul. As Herro received the ball for a corner three, Ball committed a foul, causing Herro to tumble backwards out of bounds on an attempt that completely missed the basket.
Herro converted all three foul shots, concluding a quick 6-0 surge by the Heat in under 20 seconds, which put Miami ahead 126-125 with just 8.7 seconds left. However, Ball found redemption with his decisive basket in the closing moments, potentially advancing the Hornets to their initial playoff matchup since 2016.
This victory propels Charlotte into the subsequent stage of the NBA play-in tournament, where a spot in the postseason is on the line. The Hornets are set to compete against the team that loses Tuesday’s match between the 76ers and Magic for the Eastern Conference’s eighth seed. Miami’s season has concluded.
Coby White’s pivotal performance
The contest would not have extended beyond regulation were it not for White’s extraordinary actions.
As the game hung in the balance, with Charlotte trailing by three points in the closing seconds of the main period, the team opted to keep Knueppel, the league leader in successful three-pointers this season, on the bench. Instead, Charlotte designed a strategy for White, who began the fourth quarter having made 4 out of 5 attempts from beyond the arc.
He executed flawlessly, sinking his fifth three-pointer on a challenging turnaround shot despite a defender being directly in front of him.
That basket ultimately pushed the game into an extra period, from which Charlotte emerged victorious thanks to Ball’s last-second attempt.
White further sustained Charlotte’s performance by hitting three consecutive three-pointers near the end of the third quarter. He concluded this sequence with a shot at the buzzer, giving Charlotte an 89-83 lead entering the final period.
Miami countered in the fourth quarter with a 12-0 scoring streak, regaining command of the match. The Heat seemed to have clinched the win until White’s three-pointer late in the fourth quarter pushed the contest into an extended period.
White, originally from North Carolina and a former UNC player, participated in his 22nd outing for his home-state Hornets, having joined them mid-season from the Chicago Bulls. He concluded the match with a stat line of 19 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists, hitting 5 out of 8 attempts from long range.
Knueppel’s absence in crunch time
Knueppel, notably, was absent from the court during the crucial concluding moments of regulation and did not participate in the extra period. Knueppel recently completed an impressive inaugural season where he topped the NBA with 273 successful three-point shots.
However, he failed to convert any of his six three-point attempts on Tuesday evening, ending the game with six points on 2 of 12 shooting overall. Hornets’ head coach Charles Lee chose to sideline him during the pivotal late-game situations.
LaMelo Ball’s challenging performance and a contentious moment
Ball, who concluded the current NBA season ranked second with 272 successful three-pointers, also had difficulty with his long-range attempts, hitting just 12 of 31 overall shots and 2 of 16 from three-point territory. He tallied an inefficient 30 points, 10 assists, and 5 rebounds.
Furthermore, he became embroiled in a dispute when Heat’s center Bam Adebayo exited the game in the early second quarter due to a lower back ailment.
Adebayo secured a rebound following a blocked layup attempt by Ball. As Adebayo descended near the court’s boundary, Ball, who was already on the floor, reached for Adebayo’s left ankle from behind while Adebayo’s right leg was elevated.
Adebayo collapsed forcefully onto the playing surface and instantly showed signs of distress.
Adebayo departed the match due to a lower back issue and did not reappear, thus depriving the Heat of arguably their top performer and the most dominant interior player.
The referees did not assess a foul against Ball, and coach Spoelstra’s requests for a review of the incident for a possible flagrant foul were disregarded. Official Zach Zarba informed the Amazon Prime broadcast that the action could not be reviewed because the game wasn’t instantly halted, and possession had changed.
Erik Spoelstra asserts Ball ‘deserved ejection’
Following the conclusion of the game, Spoelstra conveyed to reporters his conviction that Ball ought to have been expelled.
“I don’t believe such actions, like tripping opponents and other unsportsmanlike conduct, have a place in basketball,” Spoelstra stated. “Someone really needs to acknowledge that. He should have been removed from the game for that incident.”
Ball was not ejected. He then converted the shot that won the game while Adebayo remained off the playing surface.
Despite Ball and Knueppel’s struggles with their shot, Brandon Miller (23 points, 5 of 10 from three-point range) and Miles Bridges (28 points, 9 rebounds, 5 of 10 from three-point range) contributed significantly to Charlotte’s ability to stay competitive, alongside White.
Davion Mitchell spearheaded Miami’s offense with 28 points, 6 assists, and 4 rebounds. Andrew Wiggins contributed an additional 27 points and 7 rebounds, converting 4 of 8 attempts from beyond the arc.
Kel’el Ware assumed post duties in Adebayo’s absence, recording 12 points, 19 rebounds, and 5 blocks. Nevertheless, his efforts were insufficient for the Heat to surmount the Hornets’ clutch plays and the impact of Adebayo’s departure.
