Dragic paces Heat to crucial win over Hornets
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Goran Dragic had 33 points on 13-of-21 shooting as the Miami Heat topped the Charlotte Hornets 112-99 on Wednesday and remained in the hunt for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot.
James Johnson added 26 points, hitting 6 of 7 3-point attempts for Miami, while Hassan Whiteside had 13 points and 20 rebounds.
Nicolas Batum scored 24 points for the Hornets (36-43), who have all but lost hope for the playoffs now that they are 2 1/2 games behind the three teams tied for the final two playoff spots with three games remaining.
With both teams fighting to remain in the hunt for the final playoff spot in the East, the game was close until the Heat seized control in the third quarter. That was when Miami outscored Charlotte 34-22, led by 10 points from Dragic, as the Heat lead grew to as many as 17 points.
The impetus might have been the fact that the Heat entered the game just a half-game behind the eighth and final playoff spot, and they now have four games remaining. Miami is tied with Chicago and Indiana for the final two playoff spots, all three teams at 38-40.
The Heat began with hot 3-point shooting, knocking in 6 of 9 from long-distance in the first quarter, and didn't cool down. Miami set a club record by making 21 3-pointers -- the old record was 19 -- at a 52.5 percent clip.
The game turned chippy with 9:14 remaining in the third quarter when Whiteside -- scoreless and with three fouls at the time -- tussled for a rebound with Cody Zeller. In the scramble for the ball, Whiteside appeared to inadvertently elbow Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, and then shoved Zeller. Zeller was assessed a personal foul, and Whiteside a technical foul after officials reviewed the sequence.
The incident seemed to awaken Whiteside from his early game slump, however, and he went on to record his 54th double-double of the season.
After Miami took an early lead, the Hornets battled back in the second quarter, outscoring Miami 28-25 behind nine points from Kemba Walker. Charlotte's Marvin Williams put an exclamation mark on the Hornets' efforts to keep the game close when he nailed a 54-foot halfcourt heave at the halftime buzzer that sliced the Heat's lead to 52-51.
NOTES: Heat F Luke Babbitt missed the game with a strained right hip flexor. ... Charlotte F Marco Belinelli sustained a left index finger strain in the second quarter and did not return. ... Hornets G Kemba Walker became the fourth Charlotte player and first since Glen Rice in 1997-98 to tally 1,800 points in a single season. He now has 1,807 points this season. ... Heat C Hassan Whiteside has 54 double-doubles this season, the most for a single-season in Miami history. ... Miami players have missed 311 games due to injury/illness, the most in the NBA. ... Former Hornets assistant coach Patrick Ewing held his introductory press conference as the new head coach of Georgetown, and Charlotte coach Steve Clifford said he is confident his former right-hand man will be successful after 13 years as an assistant in the NBA. "He has a special feeling for that school," Clifford said of Ewing's alma mater.