By Sam Perley, hornets.com
The only thing that could top Charlotte’s thrilling 90-88 road victory over the Miami Heat in Game 5 would undoubtedly be another win in Game 6 on Friday night when the Hornets will have the luxury of potentially closing out their first-round series in front of their hometown fans. Although the Hornets looked out of it about a week ago, the team has rallied and is one step away from finishing off an impressive and perhaps historic comeback.
It’d be hard to pinpoint just one player responsible for Wednesday night’s monumental victory in Miami. Marvin Williams emerged with team highs across the board in scoring (17 points), rebounding (eight) and steals (three) while Al Jefferson (14 points), Kemba Walker (14 points) and Jeremy Lin (11 points) all scored in double figures as well. Nicolas Batum returned from a two-game absence (left foot strain) and while playing in noticeable discomfort, knocked down two huge three-pointers in the fourth quarter to go along with three rebounds and three assists in 25 minutes of action.
The obvious hero of the night though was Courtney Lee, who finished with eight points, none of which were bigger than the three that resulted from a long shot from behind the arc following another clutch offensive rebound (his only board of the night) to put the Hornets ahead with 25 seconds left on the clock. This dramatic sequence came following a controversial-missed layup by Lee that would have put the Hornets ahead on the previous possession that may or may not have been goaltended by the Heat’s Dwyane Wade.
“[Courtney Lee] played an amazing game. When you miss a layup, and for him to come back and make that huge shot [it shows that] he’s a tough player,” said fellow guard Kemba Walker after the Game 5 win. “[He’s] been in the league for so long. He just knows how to play.”
“[Courtney Lee] just wants to win. He’s a warrior. He has tremendous will in him. That guy is nothing short of tremendous,” added Jeremy Lin.
As unlikely as it seemed just under a week ago, the Hornets have taken control of this series with three-straight victories. But just because the team has control of the series, doesn’t mean anything is guaranteed. The Hornets managed to rally when they were down and the Heat are just as capable of doing the same thing. The good news is that it seems to be business as usual for the Hornets on Thursday morning, despite one of the biggest games in franchise history looming the next night.
“I think the guys are locked in and thinking about the right things. It’s the same thing. You don’t want to change who you are. You have to have a process that you believe in,” said head coach Steve Clifford following the team’s workout on Thursday morning back in Charlotte. “[The team] was good today [in practice]. Very attentive. I think they’ll come in [Friday], have a good shoot-around and hopefully play well.”
The Hornets’ fans will no doubt be ready to go as well, hoping to exceed the frenzied energy level they brought to Time Arena Cable Arena for Games 3 and 4. With all signs pointing to the the Hornets being fully dialed in and with one of the most-fired up crowds around supporting them, this team is primed to close out the Miami Heat’s season once and for all and notch its first postseason series win in 14 years.
Key Matchup vs. Heat: Kemba Walker vs. Goran Dragic
Kemba Walker and the Hornets will look to pull off a fourth-consecutive win and close out their first-round series with a colossal Game 6 showdown against Goran Dragic and the Miami Heat on Friday night… Charlotte’s leading-scorer has put up averages of 22.6 points on 36.4 percent shooting along with 3.4 rebounds and team-high totals in both assists (3.4) and steals (1.2) so far in the NBA Playoffs… Walker, who also owns the highest-scoring performance by any player in the series with a 34-point gem in Game 4, will be looking to pester Miami’s Dragic once again from a defensive standpoint… The eighth-year veteran originally from Slovenia is averaging 11.0 points on 36.8 percent shooting over his last three games although has missed large, critical stretches because of reoccurring foul trouble… Walker will look to shake off an uncustomary 4-of-18 shooting outing in Game 5 when the Hornets take the stage on Friday night against Dragic and the Heat in what will hopefully be the final game of this first-round series.