NBA: Hornets sting Heat with gritty comeback

LaMelo Ball of the Charlotte Hornets (Getty Images via AFP)

LOS ANGELES – The lowly Charlotte Hornets humbled the Miami Heat on Sunday, rallying for a 122-117 NBA victory that ended Miami’s three-game winning streak.

The Heat are a team on the rise after a week that included an impressive win over Eastern Conference leader Boston on Tuesday.

They led by as many as 13 points in the third quarter, but the Hornets, led by 31 points from Terry Rozier and with 27 from PJ Washington managed to turn the tide.

“They’re a good team, obviously, and they’re hard to play against,” said Charlotte coach Steve Clifford, whose team is second-to-last in the East.

“And you have to have a lot of guys that play well. We have a lot of guys that play well. Guys off the bench, starters. And we hang in there. When we’re down or he’s running, we make some plays and, again, hopefully (it’s) something you can do.

Jimmy Butler led the Heat with 28 points, connecting on 11 of 14 shots from the floor with seven rebounds.

But the Heat’s defense couldn’t keep up in the fourth quarter, when Charlotte’s LaMelo Ball scored 13 of his 19 points.

Washington helped the Hornets go ahead in the third, making three three-pointers en route to 15 points in the period.

“We didn’t defend, in the first half, the way we could have,” said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, whose team remains in sixth place in the East.

“And they got a big flow. We also played offensively, but the game was very dangerous.

“Because they’re a team that cheats. They’ve had a lot of injuries, but when they’re healthy, this team can score goals.

After allowing the Hornets to gain confidence and find a rhythm offensively, Spoelstra said that in the second half “we didn’t step up defensively.”

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