Charlotte Hornets fall to the Miami Heat at home, 104-98
The Charlotte Hornets’ struggles continue as Kemba Walker‘s 25 points weren’t enough to get a win over their division rivals.
The Charlotte Hornets (10-17) were defeated by the Miami Heat (13-14) as they lost their second straight game after beating the Thunder in OKC. Charlotte’s now dropped nine of their last 11 games. Miami had seven players score in double-figures as they held off the Hornets who made a late push in the fourth quarter.
Cody Zeller missed his fifth consecutive game as he continues to recover from surgery on a torn meniscus. Kemba Walker suffered a left wrist strain in the second quarter and left the game. He did return for the second half and played the rest of the game with his wrist heavily taped. Steve Clifford is still not with the team as Stephen Silas remains as the acting head coach.
Game Story
The turning point came at the start of the fourth period as Miami went on a 15-4 run to begin the final quarter of play while Kemba was on the bench. Although the Hornets fought back and came within two points, their comeback attempt eventually ran out of time. The Heat’s bench scoring was the difference in this one. Miami’s second unit outscored Charlotte’s, 51-35.
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Player of the Game
After a bit of a slow start to the game, Kemba Walker finished with a game-high 25 points to go along with five assists and four rebounds. He scored 15 points in the fourth quarter alone. Although he shot only 8-22 from the field, the all-star point guard did make four three-point shots.
Dwight Howard put up a double-double as he scored 15 points and grabbed 16 boards. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist added 13 points on 6-8 shooting while Jeremy Lamb led the second unit with 12 points off of the bench. Frank Kaminsky scored 10 points but struggled shooting the ball going only 3-11 in this one.
The Heat was led by two bench players in Tyler Johnson and Wayne Ellington who each had 16 points. Dion Waiters scored 12 points while Bam Adebayo, Kelly Olynyk, Josh Richardson and James Johnson each had 11.
Highlight of the Night:
Tweet of the Game:
Dwight and Jeremy Lamb are engaged in a heated back and fourth, hard to hide frustrations when you’re struggling like this #Hornets.
— SportsFromMyEyes (@JustinThomasNBA) December 16, 2017
"Quick Stings"
- Dwight recorded his 15th double-double of the season.
- Miami outscored Charlotte 13-2 in fast break points.
- Marvin Williams picked up his first technical foul of the season.
- Kemba scored 20+ points for the 17th time this year.
- The Heat outscored the Hornets in points in the paint, 44-40.
With the loss, Charlotte falls to 0-2 in their season series against Miami. The two sides will next face off on January 20th in the Queen City. The Hornets have now lost four straight regular-season games to the Heat.
In their next outing, the Hornets will host the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday, December 16th. It will be the second game of Charlotte’s current four-game homestand and their first meeting versus Damian Lillard and company this season. Charlotte will look to snap their two-game losing streak against the 14-13 Blazers.