The Charlotte Hornets couldn’t overcome Tyler Herro and the Miami Heat in what felt like a playoff game. They lost 128-120.
The Summary
Kon Knueppel opened the game with a pair of the threes and a little middy in the paint. Brandon Miller closed the first quarter with a couple of funky runners and nine straight Hornets points. Sandwiched between those stretches was a lot of ineffective offense where the Hornets struggled to break down the Heat defense. We talked in the preview how the Hornets have been prone to cold spells. They had one of those in the beginning of the second quarter. It helped the Hornets gain a slight edge, and most of the rest of the first half was the two teams yo-yoing between a small Hornets advantage and an even game. Miller hit a trio of free throws after a bad close out by Pelle Larson, and those free throws were the difference at the half.
It took a little while for the game to pick up in the second half, but it felt like a playoff game broke out about midway through the third. The Heat absolutely would not miss, even when forced into difficult looks. Jaime Jaquez Jr, who’s been a dreadful low volume 3-point shooter all season, suddenly turned into Klay Thompson. Tyler Herro didn’t miss a three until he forced one up against the shot clock. But despite all that, the Hornets maintained their lead with their own quality shot making from all through the lineup.
The teams continued to trade punches all throughout the fourth quarter. Miles Bridges got free for a couple of thunder dunks, but nothing could fully tilt the momentum of the game in the Hornets favor. A cold spell in the middle of the fourth quarter let the Heat take an advantage they would not relinquish. Kon Knueppel briefly flashed with a nine point spurt, but the Hornets had no answer for Tyler Herro’s shot making on the other end. A Dru Smith tip in, which was his only basket of the game, put the Heat up seven with just over a minute to go, and you could tell that ended the game.
The Good
Brandon Miller didn’t get as many shots up as you’d like to see, but that was more a product of his surroundings than any sort of passivity on his part. He did score efficiently when he got looks, but beyond that, he found a number of other ways to impact the game. He sucked up 13 rebounds, an uncharacteristically high number for him, and a good bit of them were in heavy traffic. He dropped five dimes and had a highlight block in the second half.
Kon Knueppel seems to rise to the occasion when the Hornets get thrust into these extra meaningful games. He started hot and finished hot. He scored nine straight points late in the game and basically single handedly kept the Hornets in the game. He went shot for shot with Herro with the game on the line.
Ryan Kalkbrenner had four blocks, but he gets a special shoutout for one in particular. Bam Adebayo got the ball with a full head of steam towards the rim. Kalkbrenner stepped up right into his path, risking an all time poster, and blocked the dunk away. One of the better blocks of the year.
Grant Williams has quietly become a vital piece to this team. He doesn’t do a whole lot that stands out, but he fills all the gaps and keeps the team running like a well oiled machine on both ends of the floor. When he’s making his threes like he has been of late, you could make the argument that he’s one of the most important bench players in the league.
The Hornets played well enough to win. Both Tyler Herro and Jaime Jaquez had their best shooting nights of the season on the same night. Sometimes thems the breaks.
The Bad
Sometimes it’s just not your night. The Hornets defended well, but the Heat just converted a frustrating amount of difficult looks that you wouldn’t expect to go in. That said, there were some breakdowns that were uncharacteristic of this team during this resurgence. Dru Smith was the smallest player on the floor and was the only one that really attacked what was a game deciding rebound. There was a play earlier in the fourth where the Heat got a fast break and no one hustled back to rebound the miss that was forced, which let Bam Adebayo put back an uncontested dunk. There were just a few moments where the focus and tenacity left the building for a bit.
LaMelo Ball played like early season LaMelo Ball. 15 of his 22 field goal attempts were 3-pointers, and I’d reckon at least half of those 3-pointers were difficult attempts early in the shot clock. He shot well enough on the rhythm ones that his 3-point percentage looks respectable, but that doesn’t show the handful of possessions he blew up with step backs and shots falling away from the basket with like 18 seconds on the shot clock. Coby White had a fair few of his own moments like that as well.
What’s Next
The Hornets head west for their last west coast swing of the season. It starts with a visit to the Suns on Sunday on Peacock.