Hornets at Heat
The Miami Heat were poised to make a statement on Friday with a big win against the NBA's top team before the wheels fell off in the second half. The Heat will try to pick up the pieces and get back to the business of chasing a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference when they host one of the teams pursuing them, the Charlotte Hornets, on Sunday.
Miami, which sits in the No. 8 spot in the East, one game clear of the Hornets and the Orlando Magic, was up 18 points on the Milwaukee Bucks after the first quarter on Friday and went into the break with a 20-point cushion before falling 113-98. "You see what we're capable of, but you see what we're capable of at both ends," Heat guard Josh Richardson told reporters. "We can be great at times but when we start getting down on ourselves, our offense kind of slows down or we let it trickle down to the defensive end and that’s when they started getting momentum. You can't let missing shots affect everything else in the game." The Hornets appeared to be falling out of the race with losses in 11 of 15 games but got up big at Washington on Friday and held off a rally to earn a 116-110 victory. "We just stayed together," shooting guard Jeremy Lamb told reporters. "We knew they were going to make some runs. It's a big road win for us. We still got a chance to do something with the season. I'm proud of us. We were moving the ball really well."
TV: 1 p.m. ET, FS Southeast (Charlotte), FS Sun (Miami)
ABOUT THE HORNETS (31-37): Charlotte improved to 10-23 on the road and is finishing off a four-game trip at Miami before heading home for three straight. Kemba Walker led the team with 28 points on Friday and is doing his best to keep the team in the race while averaging 31 points through the first three games of the trip, which began with losses at Milwaukee and Houston. Walker got some help on Friday from the bench, where Tony Parker, Lamb and Dwayne Bacon combined for 47 points on 19-of-33 shooting.
ABOUT THE HEAT (32-36): Miami was outscored 71-36 in the second half on Friday and coach Erik Spoelstra cited the team's inability to win the effort plays when things stopped going their way. "They put more shooters on the court," Spoelstra told reporters. "Their big-time shooters hurt us; even with a defender there, they are shooting over the top of you. The only chance to win against this team is to fly around and make things happen. We take pride in rebounding and 50/50 balls. There are eight to 10 of those and I think we lost every single one of them." Justise Winslow scored all of his team-high 20 points prior to the break in the loss.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Heat C Hassan Whiteside recorded a double-double in four of the last five games.
2. Hornets PF Marvin Williams is 3-of-18 from the floor over his last two games.
3. Charlotte took the first two meetings but dropped a 91-84 decision at home to Miami on March 6.