Heat comes alive in fourth quarter to defeat Hornets and holds on to playoff spot
It started ugly, but it ended just the way the Heat needed it to.
After shooting just 32.6 percent from the field and 2 of 16 on threes in the first half, the Heat (33-36) came alive in the fourth quarter to defeat the Hornets 93-75 on Sunday afternoon at AmericanAirlines Arena.
It marked the lowest scoring game in the NBA this season, with the teams combining for 168 points. The previous season-low total for a game was 170 points.
It was a much-needed win against one of the teams competing with Miami for one of the Eastern Conference’s final playoff spots. With the victory, the No. 8 Heat is one game ahead of the No. 9 Magic and pushed its lead over the No. 10 Hornets to two games. (31-38).
Miami entered the fourth quarter with just a one-point lead, but outscored Charlotte 32-15 in the final period behind 10 points from Goran Dragic and 12 points from Dwyane Wade in the quarter. After an underwhelming showing in the first three quarters, the Heat shot 54.5 percent from the field and 6 of 8 on threes in the fourth.
Dragic finished the game with 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting and four assists, and Wade contributed 17 points on 6-of-14 shooting and eight rebounds as he played through a right hip bruise that put his status for the game in doubt just hours before tip-off.
“He’s a warrior,” coach Erik Spoelstra said of Wade. “He knows how important a game like this is. Just the fact that he wasn’t able to go through the walk through. But then he does everything he possibly can. He texts me after my media session and says, ‘Coach, I can give you a couple minutes and we’ll see from there.’ And it’s really just to set the tone for the team.”
While the Heat’s offense didn’t come alive until the fourth quarter, its defense was on the entire way. Charlotte was limited to season-lows in points (75) and shooting percentage (31.3).
Hornets All-Star guard Kemba Walker was held to an inefficient 10 points on 4-of-16 shooting.
The Heat played without Justise Winslow, who missed the game with a right thigh bruise.
Sunday’s result comes less than two weeks after the Heat defeated the Hornets 91-84 in Charlotte, N.C., on March 6.
Now, Miami hits the road to complete the back-to-back set. The Heat begins a four-game trip with a Monday matchup against the Thunder in Oklahoma City, with All-Star guard Russell Westbrook suspended for the game after receiving his 16th technical foul of the season during Saturday’s loss to the Warriors.
This story was originally published March 17, 2019 at 3:35 PM.
