LaMelo Ball hit a go-ahead layup with 4.7 seconds left, and Miles Bridges blocked Davion Mitchell’s shot at the buzzer as the Charlotte Hornets beat the visiting Miami Heat, 127-126, in overtime to advance to the play-in tournament yesterday (Philippine time).
Ball scored 30 points and Bridges added 28 for No. 9 seed Charlotte (45-38), which forced overtime when Coby White made one of his five three-pointers with 10.8 seconds remaining in regulation.
Brandon Miller had 23 points for the Hornets and White finished with 19. Moussa Diabate added eight points and 14 rebounds.
The Hornets will travel to face the loser of the matchup between the seventh-seeded Philadelphia 76ers and No. 8 seed Orlando Magic for a chance to meet the top-seeded Detroit Pistons in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Mitchell led 10th-seeded Miami (43-40) with 28 points and Andrew Wiggins added 27. Heat center Bam Adebayo exited with a lower-back injury after taking a hard fall early in the second quarter and did not return.
Herro scored 23 points, Jaime Jaquez, Jr. added 13 points, Kel’el Ware had 12 points and 19 rebounds and Norman Powell chipped in 11. Miami’s season came to an end in a game that featured 17 ties and 16 lead changes.
Both teams set the tone early during a physical first quarter that ended with Charlotte leading 26-24.
Adebayo walked gingerly to the locker room after being tripped by Ball near the basket with 10:58 left in the second period and the Hornets leading 30-26.
Miami outscored the Hornets, 28-22, after Adebayo left and took a 54-52 lead into the half.
White made four three-pointers and scored 14 points in the final 4:05 left of the third quarter to give the Hornets an 89-83 lead.
Charlotte rookie Kon Knueppel, who led the NBA in made three-pointers with 273, finished with six points on 2-of-12 shooting from the field and 0-of-6 from three-point range.
Ball was 2-of-16 shooting from beyond the arc after finishing second in made three-pointers this season with 272. The Hornets won despite shooting 32.1 percent (18-of-56) from three-point range. (Field Level Media / Reuters)