Brandon Miller pumped in 34 points and the Charlotte Hornets recovered to beat the visiting Miami Heat 115-110 after a huge lead was wiped out in the fourth quarter Saturday night.
Dennis Schroder added 25 points, Naz Reid scored 23 and Grayson Allen contributed 20, including a crucial four-point play. Miller was the only one of Charlotte’s top four scorers who played for the Hornets last season.
Davion Mitchell’s 22 points and 10 assists paced the Heat, who remained winless through three games despite erasing a 23-point deficit to tie the score at 100.
Bam Adebayo’s 20 points and eight rebounds gave Miami a lift, Pelle Larsson supplied 15 points, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Klay Thompson each had 14, and Bobby Portis scored 13.
The Hornets looked headed for a comfortable win less than 24 hours after a 47-point home-opener loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
Still, the Heat erased a 23-point lead with a stunning comeback in the first six minutes of the fourth quarter.
Miami opened the fourth quarter with a 10-2 run to cut the lead to 98-85. That run extended to a 25-4 edge as the Heat pulled even at 100-100 with less than six minutes to play. Mitchell provided the final five points of that rally.
The Heat never took the lead, however, and Allen converted a four-point play to give Charlotte a 108-104 advantage. Schroder added two free throws before Miami mounted one final push.
Mitchell’s 3-pointer trimmed the gap to 113-110 with 8.1 seconds left. Allen countered with a pair of free throws.
The Heat made 23 of 25 free-throw attempts to help offset 43% shooting from the field.
Miller finished 10-for-29 from the field and made 11 of 12 free throws.
Reid sank five of Charlotte’s 16 baskets from 3-point range and Allen finished with four.
Charlotte led 66-58 at halftime, then cranked out a 30-17 edge in the third quarter.
–Field Level Media
