The Miami HEAT fell to the Charlotte Hornets 99-81 Wednesday night at Time Warner Cable Arena. Tyler Johnson led the way for the HEAT with 20 points.
1. Never Quit
After a slow first half, Miami started the third quarter very well, connecting on seven of its first eight shots. In particular, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh started to get going early in the quarter. Unfortunately, Charlotte went on a run shortly thereafter that was tough to comeback from. Still, it was good to see the HEAT come out guns blazing to try and cut into the deficit.
Later in the fourth, Tyler Johnson continued to fight and claw despite the team being down by double-digits. The combo guard relentlessly attacked the basket and drew a number of fouls on the Hornets. His grit and will to compete down the stretch was quite impressive. Johnson shot 6-of-12 for his 20 points and went 7-of-8 from the charity stripe.
2. Gerald Green Competes on Both Ends
In his seventh straight game as a starter, Green played pretty well against Charlotte. The swingman continued to get his man to bite on head-fakes and shot-fakes throughout the game. As a result, Green had a few nice drives to the hoop and good looks from the perimeter.
On one such instance with 7:03 left in the first quarter, he got Cody Zeller to leave his feet at the top of the circle. Green then drove right in for the one-handed jam to cut the Hornets’ lead to 14-8.
Green finished the game with 11 points and three rebounds to go along with his two blocks.
3. Hassan Whiteside Shows His Strength
Early on, Whiteside fought hard inside and bullied his way to get some dunks in the post. Wade set up the big man a few times, as the two continued to show their great chemistry together. On the flip side, Whiteside was his usual self and swatted three shots. In fact, he spiked Zeller’s jumper to get the game started on a positive note.
In addition to his three blocks, Whiteside also had six points and eight boards on the night.
Game Notes: Luol Deng made his return to action and came off the bench for Miami. Amar’e Stoudemire (rehabilitative recovery) and Jarnell Stokes (assigned to Sioux Falls) were inactive.