By Sam Perley, hornets.com
It’ll be hard to top Charlotte’s two most recent home playoff games but a pair of thrilling wins in both contests has put the team in position to potentially do just that later on this week if it can take care of business on Wednesday night against the Heat. Despite falling in what looked like an overwhelming 0-2 deficit roughly a week ago, the Hornets have rallied to tie their first-round series and provided themselves with an opportunity to move ahead when these teams meet up once again for a huge Game 5 in Miami.
Losing by an average of 22.0 points in the first two games of the series had things looking bleak for the Hornets when they returned to Charlotte for Game 3 last Saturday evening. Even worse was the fact that the team’s second-leading scorer, Nicolas Batum, was sidelined indefinitely after exiting in the fourth quarter of Game 2 with a troublesome left foot strain.
With a 12-game playoff losing streak looming over the team’s head, the Hornets convincingly defied the odds in a dominant 96-80 victory over the Heat in Game 3 to notch the franchise’s first postseason victory since 2002. There would be no letdown two nights later either as Charlotte held off a second-half Miami comeback to close out a crucial 89-85 win to even the series at two games apiece.
To say the energy level inside Time Warner Cable Arena during both these Hornets wins was high would be as large an understatement as one can make. Counting the playoffs, Charlotte’s record this season at home is now 32-11, which is roughly three wins for every one loss. This clearly-defined home-court advantage hasn’t gone unnoticed by the team either, particularly after Monday night’s electrifying win.
“[The atmosphere] was awesome. Right up there with Game 3,” said Hornets guard Jeremy Lin during his post-game press conference following the team’s thrilling four-point win on Monday night. “We will need everybody [back] for Game 6. Thank you so much to all the fans. [They] made it so fun and it is an awesome environment.”
“Our crowd was awesome tonight,” added Cody Zeller following the Game 4 win. “They gave us a big boost. We had a lot of energy and we kind of fed off that.”
With the series shifting back to Miami, the pressure will be on the Heat to defend its home court now. Neither team has lost at home as of yet and it’s safe to say the first one to blink on its own floor will probably be watching the second round from home. Overall, replicating the same energy and urgency the Hornets had in the last two games will be imperative if they want to emerge victorious in Game 5 and set up a potential series-clinching opportunity back in Charlotte on Friday night.
Key Matchup vs. Heat: Courtney Lee vs. Dwyane Wade
The Hornets will need another big defensive performance from shooting guard Courtney Lee when they return to Miami to take on Dwyane Wade and the Heat for Game 5 on Wednesday night… Although he’s averaging just 9.8 points on 40.6 percent shooting, 3.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists in the playoffs, Lee has been the primary culprit behind Wade’s recent offensive struggles as the 12-time All-Star is putting up a relatively low 14.5 points on 35.5 percent shooting over his last two games… “[Courtney’s] played a lot of minutes these past two games. He can guard Wade. He can guard Joe Johnson. He’s a tough kid and he’s been huge for us all season,” said Hornets center Cody Zeller following the team’s Game 4 win on Monday night… Lee’s ability to fluster Wade for a third-consecutive outing could be the key to the Hornets stealing a momentum-shifting victory in Game 5 when these two teams collide again at AmericanAirlines Arena for a huge showdown on Wednesday night.