Heat falter late and lose to Hornets

To the casual fan, they changed the channel. The Heat were following the same modus operandi the last two games, and this one looked to end the same. But, Davion Mitchell scored five straight points. Then, Bobby Portis hit a three-point shot and the Heat were down 12. The casual fan gets a text from a friend telling him to go back to the game.

Pelle Larsson scored five straight points as he tuned in to watch. Bobby Portis hit a driving, floating layup and Davion Mitchell blazed past his defender to score a three-point play. Charlotte kept missing shots. Mitchell hit a reverse layup and then another cutting layup and just like that, the score was tied at 102.

Giannis and foul trouble

Giannis was subbed out at 1:17 remaining in the third quarter at the start of the run. He came back in at the 5:00 mark of the fourth with the score tied. He was called for his fifth foul competing for a rebound. Charlotte appeared to “get their second wind” and Grayson Allen capitalized scoring a four-point play to go up by four.

The Heat unfortunately appeared to forget what got them back in the game. They began to take three-point shots with plenty of time in the game. Bam Adebayo missed a three-pointer, then Klay Thompson missed a three-pointer. Then Giannis fouled out.

Final take

Brandon Miller played a great game tonight, scoring 34. He hit free throws at the end of the game to keep the Hornets lead secure. The Hornets were held to 31% shooting in the second half. The Hornets outrebounded the Heat and dragged them in second chance points 21-10.

Miami finally showed grit and fight tonight. Giannis made four of his eleven shots. He really, really needs to improve his mid-range jump shot. Every team looks like they’re ready for his drive to the basket so he “needs to pivot.” Klay Thompson had two good looks at three-point shots but just didn’t make them. Those shots will fall soon enough.