Batum, Hornets handle Heat
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Nicolas Batum narrowly missed his second triple-double in the past four games, and the Charlotte Hornets controlled the second half for a 91-82 victory over the Miami Heat on Thursday night at the Spectrum Center.
Batum finished with 16 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists, going without an assist in the fourth quarter largely because teammates kept missing open shots. He had 20 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in a win over the Chicago Bulls on Dec. 23.
The Hornets trailed by seven at halftime but scored the first eight points of the third quarter and went on to outscore the Heat 31-17 in the period.
Kemba Walker led the Hornets with 22 points, and his 3-pointer with 1:40 left all but sealed the win, giving the Hornets an 89-82 lead. The Hornets also got 13 points from Marvin Williams and 10 points from Jeremy Lamb.
The Hornets (19-14) have won two straight and five of their past six.
The Heat (10-23) lost their third straight. They used their 12th different starting lineup of the year.
Josh Richardson led the Heat with 20 points, and Tyler Johnson scored 18. The Heat also got 12 points from Wayne Ellington. Goran Dragic returned from a back injury but was just 2 of 11 from the field for five points.
The Heat led 49-42 at halftime after the Hornets were on top 21-19 after one quarter. The Hornets were shooting 31.4 percent from the field and were just 2 of 14 from 3-point range at the half. They shot a season-best 54.8 percent from the field in a win at Orlando on Wednesday.
The Hornets led 73-66 after three quarters.
For the game, Miami hit 40.2 percent of its field-goal attempts to 38.7 percent for Charlotte. The Hornets outscored the Heat 14-6 from the foul line.
NOTES: The Hornets won the only previous meeting with the Heat this season 97-91 at Miami on Oct. 28. The teams will play two more times, at Miami on March 8 and at Charlotte on April 5. ... The Heat were without F Josh McRoberts (fractured foot) and G Dion Waiters (pectineus tear). ... The Hornets were without G Marco Belinelli (sprained ankle), but C Cody Zeller played despite a cut on his hand suffered in a 120-101 win at Orlando on Wednesday. Zeller scored nine points and grabbed seven rebounds. ... Heat C Hassan Whiteside led the NBA in rebounding at 14.7 per game before Thursday, when he pulled down 10 boards. ... Entering Thursday game, the Hornets had committed the fewest fouls in the NBA, averaging 16.6, and they were whistled just 11 times against Miami. They have not had a player foul out all season. ... The Hornets are now 3-4 on the second night of back-to-backs. ... The Heat will play at Boston on Friday. ... The Hornets will host Cleveland on Saturday night.