Hornets at Heat
THE STORY: The Miami Heat survived their most eagerly anticipated matchup of the season Sunday, withstanding a late comeback to hold off the Chicago Bulls in a game between the top two teams in the Eastern Conference. “Like the playoffs in January,” Heat guard Dwyane Wade said. Miami faces another daunting challenge – albeit of a different nature – when it hosts the skidding New Orleans Hornets on Monday night. Winners of four straight and coming off a nationally televised duel with the Bulls, the Heat need to figure out how to avoid a letdown against the Hornets, who have dropped 16 of their last 18 games and are tied for the second-worst record in the league. New Orleans certainly didn’t give Miami much cause for alarm with its wretched performance in a 94-72 home loss to Atlanta on Sunday. It marked a season low in points and the most lopsided margin of defeat for the Hornets this season.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, CST (New Orleans), Sun Sports (Miami)
ABOUT THE HORNETS (4-16): New Orleans halted a nine-game skid by routing Orlando on Friday, and three of its previous four losses had been by two points, so Sunday’s game left the players baffled after they fell into an early 27-6 hole. “Frustrating. Embarrassing," forward Jason Smith said. "We didn’t play hard. We didn’t play defense.” Shooting guard Marco Belinelli’s maddening inconsistency isn’t helping. In the last six games, he has scored four, 15, four, 12, four and 15 points.
ABOUT THE HEAT (15-5): James scored 35 points – his third straight 30-point game – and also grabbed 11 boards against the Bulls. He has scored at least 28 points in eight of his last nine games. Even with Wade back from injury, Bosh continues to produce at a high level with his fifth double-double of the season. He is averaging 25.3 points in his last six games. In winning seven of its last eight games, Miami has not allowed the opposition to reach 100 points.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. Miami won the last meeting in December 2010, but the Hornets have won eight of the last 11 in the series.
2. Following Monday’s game, the Heat will play eight of their next 10 away from home.