LaMelo Ball made a layup with 4.7 seconds left in overtime, Miles Bridges blocked Davion Mitchell‘s attempt at a winning layup at the buzzer, and the Charlotte Hornets beat the Miami Heat 127-126 on Tuesday night in a wild start to the NBA’s play-in games.
Ball finished with 30 points and 10 assists and Bridges had 28 points and nine rebounds as the Hornets won their first postseason home game in a decade. Coby White had 19 points, including a turnaround 3 with 10.8 seconds left in regulation to send the game to overtime.
The Hornets will travel to face the loser of Wednesday’s matchup between the Philadelphia 76ers and Orlando Magic on Friday night for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Charlotte is seeking its first playoff appearance in a decade.
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“My kids told me I’m not allowed to say ‘lit’ anymore, but I thought that the environment in there was exactly how I pictured it,” Hornets coach Charles Lee said of the Spectrum Center crowd. “The support all game from the crowd, the noise, the everything, the drama I think I heard a little bit — we were glad that we were able to pull this one out for the Charlotte fans, because they have definitely helped us throughout the whole year. And that’s the environment that we want to keep having night after night.”
Ball became the fourth player with at least 30 points and 10 assists in a play-in game, joining Josh Giddey (2023, Thunder), Kyrie Irving (2022, Nets) and Damian Lillard (2020, Trail Blazers).
Mitchell had 28 points and Andrew Wiggins added 27 for the Heat, who lost Bam Adebayo to a lower back injury when Ball tripped him in the second quarter.
The Heat will miss the playoffs for the first time since the 2018-19 season.
“There’s nothing to be ashamed of with our locker room,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “What you want is, you want to feel like you’re worthy to win. And I think our guys felt like they were worthy to win tonight. We just didn’t win the game, and that can happen as well. That’s what we’ll have to live with in the offseason.”
LaMelo Ball made up for two critical mistakes in overtime, lifting the Hornets with the go-ahead layup with 4.7 seconds left in Tuesday’s play-in game against the Heat. Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images
Ball made a driving layup to put the Hornets up by five with 26 seconds left in overtime. But he made two critical mistakes after that.
Tyler Herro, who scored 23 points for Miami, hit a twisting, corner 3 before Ball turned the ball over in the backcourt and fouled Herro on a 3-point shot. Herro made all three free throws to give Miami a 126-125 lead with 8.7 seconds left.
After a timeout, Ball drove the right side of the lane and made a leaning, right-handed layup to give Charlotte the lead. Miami, without any timeouts, pushed the ball up the court, and Bridges chased down Mitchell to block his layup attempt, setting off a frenzied celebration.
Ball flexed at midcourt as players mobbed each other.
“We drew up a good play, I feel like, and just orchestrated it,” Ball said. “It worked.”
Despite the loss of Adebayo, the Heat remained in control until late in the third quarter, when White banked in a 3-pointer and added another 3 at the top of the key as part of a 10-0 Charlotte run.
White, acquired in a midseason trade with the Chicago Bulls, drained another 3 in the closing seconds of the third quarter to give Charlotte an 89-83 lead.
The Heat then built a 102-95 lead in the fourth quarter behind two 3s from Wiggins.
The Hornets tied it when White caught an inbounds pass and made an unbalanced 3 from the corner. Herro had a chance to win it in regulation but hit the back iron on a 3-point try.
The Associated Press and ESPN Research contributed to this report.
