Another late thriller sees Heat sink Hornets, 106-114
Terry Rozier had the last laugh against his former team with a dagger in the final quarter.
CHARLOTTE — Et tu, Brute? Charlotte’s Saturday loss to sink them to 1-2 in the season was personal — not just because they lost to a bitter rival in their home opener, but also because the killing blow came from ex-teammate Terry Rozier. Rozier had the ball in the corner with 38 seconds to go and with the Heat up five points. He sized up his man, Nick Richards, hesitated, looked him dead in the eyes, and let fly.
The ball, as expected went in. He doesn’t look at the ball (which doesn’t graze the rim) for more than a nanosecond before sticking his tongue out at the stunned home fans and strutting back on defense. From there, the Hornets collapse, are forced to foul for the second time in a row, and lose another nailbiter.
The bad part was it was entirely preventable.
Before either team stepped foot in Spectrum Center, one could argue the Hornets were at a distinct disadvantage. They’d be without four players through injury, including Josh Geen, Mark Williams, and superstar wing Brandon Miller. They’d just jetted back from Atlanta the night prior, another close game that went right down to the buzzer. They’d played another close game in Wednesday. The exhaustion was visible on the players faces as they forced out shots in the morning shootaround.
They faced a Miami squad missing only rookie Kel’el Ware and journeyman Josh Richardson. They’d gotten plenty of rest — their Wednesday 116-97 loss against Orlando gave them plenty time to sit their core player later in the game. They came in to the game refreshed and hungry for their first win.
The Hornets looked to their bench to produce early. Melo shot erratically again, meaning Seth Curry took over midway through the first quarter. Curry heated up with a nice baseline fadeaway over an outstretched Herro and a pair of pull-up threes to lengthen Charlotte’s lead to six.
For the first time in a while, Charlotte looked self-dependent without their golden boy. Melo picked up two quick fouls in the first quarter, but the likes of Curry, Miles Bridges, and the ultra-aggressive Moussa Diabate kept Charlotte even with Miami.
The second half was a mixed bag for the Hornets. Shooting was a major issue for Charlotte. In the first half, Melo had yet to make a three-pointer (0/6). The team shot 40% from the field and an abysmal 4-20 from range. Despite the surprisingly decent defense to frustrate Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro, offensive struggles halted any chance of taking a lead before halftime. Inevitably, as six-time All-Stars do, Butler found his groove and punished defenses for it — erupting for nine points on 3-3 shooting after a scoreless first quarter.
“I think that it takes a little bit of time sometimes to get your footing on the second night of a back-to-back,” Lee admitted after the game. “We just played the Hawks and they guard you one way, and now you’ve got to figure out the coverages versus a different team. I think it just takes a little bit of time to figure out what that defensive scheme looks like on the other side.”
The evidence was damning. Grant Williams shot 2-7; Melo 9-22; Bridges 6-14. Of the Hornets’ ten-man rotation, only three shot at or over .500; Seth Curry (6-12), Nick Richards (5-8), and Diabate (2-2). Charlotte’s offense runs on momentum. Saturday’s first half is a good indicator of how ugly things can get without it.
The second half saw the Hornets return to form — kind of. Tidjane’s opening minutes witnessed the rawness scouts reported, but it didn’t seem as pronounced as thought. The Hornets went back and forth, with huge threes from leading sixth-man Tre Mann and Cody Martin to eventually trim the lead to five points. Mann was the biggest factor in the Hornets’ resurgence back to the top — not the woefully inefficient Melo, nor the somewhat outmatched Bridges. For all of the hesitation, clumsy turnovers (Melo spilled the ball over five times!), the Hornets seemed to be working their way back into the game — somewhat like they did on Wednesday. All they needed was the final stop to make it a truly one-possession game.
They never got it.
There’s horrible communication between Richards and Melo — Melo zinging a pass to the open Melo that Richards doesn’t expect — which ends up with a dropped ball. It’ll ultimately send Miami to the line, putting any hope of an even scoreline away.
And finally, with 35 seconds left and the Heat up five, Terry dealt the death blow. All the little errors, the huge Butler-lead runs, the offensive struggles were big punches, but it seemed that Rozier’s dagger to put Miami up five sealed the game for Miami.
Charlotte sank to 1-2 with a Friday match against the Raptors looming on the horizon. Analysts figure this game is a must-win for the Hornets as they figure out whether their squad is a play-in team or if they’re still rebuilding.