The Charlotte Hornets beat the Miami Heat 115-110 at Spectrum Center on Saturday behind 34 points from Brandon Miller, who also grabbed seven rebounds in 36 minutes. The win pushed Charlotte to 2-1 on the season and dropped Miami to 0-3.
Miller shot 10 of 29 from the field but got to the free-throw line 12 times, making 11. Dennis Schroder added 25 points and four assists for the Hornets, while Naz Reid posted 23 points and a game-high nine rebounds. Davion Mitchell led Miami with 22 points and 10 assists, but the Heat could not overcome a third-quarter swing that put the game out of reach before a late rally fell short.
Takeaways From Hornets’ Win Over Heat
Charlotte’s third quarter changed the game
The Hornets outscored the Heat 30-17 in the third quarter, turning a tied game at halftime into a double-digit cushion. Charlotte built as much as a 23-point lead in the game, according to the official box score, while Miami’s largest lead topped out at four points.
Miami’s bench kept it competitive late
Bobby Portis scored 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds off the bench, and the Heat outscored Charlotte 35-19 in the fourth quarter. The rally trimmed what had been a much larger deficit but ran out of time after Charlotte’s third-quarter surge built too big a cushion.
Charlotte won the battle on the glass
The Hornets finished with 45 rebounds to Miami’s 37, including a 10-8 edge in offensive boards. Charlotte also out-blocked the Heat 5-4, with Naz Reid and Moussa Diabate each recording multiple blocks.
Player Of The Game: Brandon Miller
Miller finished with 34 points, seven rebounds, four assists and four turnovers in 36 minutes, posting a plus-20 rating that led all players. He made 10 of 29 field-goal attempts and 3 of 10 three-pointers but was nearly automatic from the line, converting 11 of 12 free throws.
Hornets Vs. Heat By The Numbers
Charlotte shot 44% from the field compared to Miami’s 43%, and both teams made exactly 23 of 25 free throws for 92%. The Hornets won the rebounding battle 45-37 but Miami won the points-in-paint battle 44-36. Miami generated 24 fast-break points to Charlotte’s eight, but the Hornets committed fewer fouls in the aggregate categories that mattered most down the stretch. Miami converted 13 Heat turnovers into 23 points off turnovers; Charlotte scored 13 points off 15 Hornets turnovers.
What’s Next
The Hornets improved to 2-1, sitting 0.5 games behind Atlanta in the Southeast. The Heat fell to 0-3, 2.5 games back in the division.
Don't stop here
Every Score. Every Story. One Home.
Breaking sports, entertainment and news from across the Total Apex network, updated all day.
Get the Full Story →
