Miami Heat rally falls short in home-opening loss to Charlotte Hornets

The Miami Heat’s home opener had the chance for a storybook ending when Dwyane Wade tied the game with a putback layup with 12.3 seconds left and erased a 26-point second-half deficit.

But a Rodney McGruder foul with 0.5 seconds allowed the Charlotte Hornets’ Kemba Walker to hit a game-winning free throw.

Final score from AmericanAirlines Arena: Charlotte 113, Heat 112.

It was a somber ending to what was almost an epic comeback.

The Heat (1-2) scored the first nine points and raced to a 12-4 lead before Charlotte took control. A 24-9 run made it 28-21 Charlotte. By halftime, the Hornets (2-1) led 72-52 after making 12 of their 20 three-point attempts, including a buzzer-beater by Walker. Miami chipped the deficit to 10 points after the third quarter and tied the game with 12.3 seconds left on Wade’s putback layup after rebounding a missed three-point attempt. A game that seemed destined for overtime collapsed when McGruder was charged with a foul on Walker, who made the first of two free-throw attempts to seal Charlotte’s win.

Walker finished with a game-high 39 points, with his final point deciding the game.

Wade scored a team-high 21 points in his final home opener. McGruder and Hassan Whiteside both had double-double. McGruder had 19 points and 10 rebounds; Whiteside had 11 points and 15 rebounds. Goran Dragic (20), Derrick Jones Jr. (12) and Bam Adebayo (12) finished in double-digit scoring.

This story was originally published October 20, 2018 at 10:47 PM.