MIAMI, April 16 (Ticker) -- Jamal Mashburn scored 12 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter as the Charlotte Hornets erased a double-digit deficit to sweep the Miami Heat for the first time in franchise history, 88-81.

Charlotte (43-38) moved into a fifth-place tie with Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference with one game remaining. The Hornets close the season at home vs. Chicago, while Philadelphia plays at Indiana.

"The Eastern Conference is so wide open that if you continue to work and continue to play, you'll have a chance to win," Mashburn said. "The team with the most focus, makes the most shots and makes the most stops is going to win. It sounds like an easy formula but sometimes it is hard to do. It is so wide open that any team has a chance to make the finals."

After Eddie House hit a jumper to give the Heat a 77-66 advantage with 8:25 remaining, the Hornets embarked on a 22-4 run to close the contest.

NBA TV highlights from Hornets-Heat: 56k | 300k Jamaal Magloire and the Hornets still don't know their playoff opponent. Victor Baldizon NBAE/Getty Images

Mashburn gave Charlotte the lead for good at 80-79 on a pair of free throws with 3:26 left, then added a turnaround jumper and 3-of-4 free throws down the stretch.

"The Heat are a great defensive team," Mashburn said. "They get up into you and play really hard. You will very rarely blow them out. We just kept up with our stuff, turned it up a notch and played a little harder, and that was the difference. We also started making shots and we were able to get to the free throw line."

"I thought we put we some defensive guys out there in the fourth quarter," Charlotte coach Paul Silas said. "We were switching all their screens and they weren't able to really space us at that point or even get the ball. We kept the ball out of their hands. Our defense in the fourth quarter was the key. We did not play with energy for three quarters. I was just searching for five guys who would pick it up. Mashburn picked it up."

Miami (35-46), which was paced by Alonzo Mourning's 25 points and 11 rebounds, will miss the postseason for the first time since 1995. It will be the first time in Pat Riley's 20 seasons in the league that a team he has coached will miss the playoffs.

"We couldn't make shots," said Riley, whose team connected on just 38 percent (31-of-81). "It's the same disease all the time. We played great for three quarters, almost wire-to-wire, and then we just go dead in the water. It's disturbing that we were leading in the fourth quarter for like the 13th time and we lost."

Though Charlotte only shot 37 percent (30-of-81), it made 26-of-33 free throws while Miami sank only 17-of-25.

"It's not frustrating, it's just disturbing," Mourning said. "We had the lead basically the whole game, controlled the game, and then you're put into a situation where the decisions are made by other people. You're out there working your (butt) off and then those decisions are made. It totally changes the game around and you're helpless because you can't do anything about it."

Charlotte led 31-29 midway through the second quarter before Miami went on a mini-burst to take a 52-43 lead at halftime.

The Heat increased their lead to 71-60 entering the fourth quarter but shot just 18 percent in the final 12 minutes (4-of-22) while the Hornets connected on 44 percent (8-of-18).

The Hornets defeated the Heat in their two prior encounters this season. It is the first sweep of season series by one of the teams since they entered the NBA in 1988.

Starting Hornets power forward P.J. Brown sprained his left ankle late in the third quarter after landing on the foot of Heat backup center Sean Marks. Brown hobbled off the court and did not return.

"I will have to just take it day-to-day," Brown said. "I will work on it tomorrow, try to get the swelling down as much as possible, and try to get my flexibility back as quickly as possible. I will not play tomorrow and I would prefer our first playoff game to be on Sunday. The pain was severe but I didn't feel anything pop or tear. I just need time, which I don't have much of."