The Charlotte Hornets were defeated by the Miami Heat 114-106 Saturday night. Charlotte’s home opener was a back-and-forth battle and was tied after the first quarter.
Miami carved out a small lead in the second quarter and kept the Hornets at bay for the duration of the game. After a close first quarter, some bad second-quarter turnovers killed any momentum that the Hornets tried to build.
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A fourth quarter rally cut Miami’s lead to just four points with less than three minutes to play before Jimmy Butler hit two three-pointers and a floater to seal the victory.
“I’m proud of the whole group,” Hornets head coach Charles Lee said after the game. “We just had three great games that were close game situations that we can learn from.”
LaMelo Ball led the charge for Charlotte and finished with 27 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Despite having six players finish with double figures, some costly turnovers were to blame for Charlotte’s failed comeback.
Butler was once again Miami’s top performer, finishing with 26 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Charlotte’s next game is a matchup against the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday and Miami’s next game is a showdown against the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday.
James Parker is an NBA writer for Ball Exclusives, follow him on X @TheJames_Parker
