The Heat's pace was too hot for the Hornets to handle in game one of season series

For the 18th time in the last 20 meetings, the Charlotte Hornets came up on the short end of a game against the Miami Heat, falling 144-117, thus dropping their record to 2-2 on the season.

LaMelo Ball was en fuego out of the chute, pouring in 15 points off of four made threes, including an And one where he got Jaime Jacquez to bite on a pump fake. Three of those made triples were via the one-legged variety, which has become his signature shot.

Once he came off the floor, the Hornets' offense slowed down and at times, hit a brick wall. The Hornets' bench was outscored 18-0 in the opening quarter, and when Ball returned after a long rest, he went cold, going scoreless in the second quarter.

The Heat's pace really bothered Charlotte defensively, with guys not running the floor and constantly being a step late off the bounce. This led to some bad fouls and put the Heat on the line a bunch, leading to 13 free points. Miami would close the first half on a 19-3 run, taking a 76-60 lead into the break.

Charlotte trimmed the deficit to three, but another bad stretch of defense led to a 21-7 Miami run, giving the Heat a 105-88 lead heading into the fourth. The lack of intensity, focus, and communication on that end of the floor was the root of the issue tonight for the Bugs.

Best of the Night: Collin Sexton

For the second straight game, Sexton got the starting nod with Brandon Miller on the shelf, and he was rock solid once again. Tonight, he finished with 18 points, five rebounds, and six assists, while making a handful of hustle plays. He was a little sloppy handling it tonight, turning it over four times, but in all, it was another strong outing for him.

Worst of the Night: Defense

Watching the Heat run the floor like they did is something I'm not accustomed to, and I think it even caught the Hornets off guard a bit. Yeah, they looked over the scouting report and saw Miami entered the night No. 1 in the NBA in pace, but seeing it up close and in person is a different animal. Charlotte likes to push the tempo, too, but you could tell right from the jump that the Hornets were going to have to go shot-for-shot with them to have a chance. The first three games of the season produced good vibes on the defensive end, not so much tonight.

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