The Charlotte Hornets won in dramatic fashion on Wednesday night as they defeated the Miami Heat by 2 points in Game 5 of their first-round series. As game 6 approaches, it shows just how much this series has changed.
Advertisement
After falling in a 2-0 hole in this best-of-seven series with back-to-back double digit losses, the Hornets appeared to be in trouble. Heat had the lead, 59-50, at halftime. Hornets guard Kemba Walker missed a jumper, and that is when Lee swooped in. Zeller is also expected to play in game six.
“I think last game they were a little bit more committed to putting two (defenders) on the ball at an earlier stage”, Lin said of the Heat’s desperate, on-the-fly attempts to slow him and Walker.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra continued to call Wade’s number down the stretch, and for good reason. The Hornets still have their starting lineup in place, and Al Jefferson, Frank Kaminsky, and Zeller will have to eat bigger minutes going forward. “And we didn’t scramble”.
“We have to play confident and free of mind”, he said. After all, Lee is the only Hornets player with NBA Finals experience, having played for the 2009 Orlando Magic. If they play like the last three games then that’s exactly what will happen. Instead, the controversy in gave five was the question whether or not Dwayne Wade was fouled on Heat’s last possession of the game? I thought I did [get fouled]. “But it wasn’t called”.
“I knew they were going to throw their heads back”, he said of what he again perceived as flopping.
“You can’t script a series”, Spoelstra said.
Nearly half an hour after the final buzzer sounded, wiping away what would have been the shining moment of his pro career, Kemba Walker sat slouched in his chair, still fully dressed in his white No. 15 Charlotte Hornets uniform, and stared blankly into his locker. They fought back in the third quarter when they outscored Miami 20-16.
Overall, the Heat won most of the hustle categories.
Both 3-pointers were bailout options for Miami, as you’d expect from someone who took just 44 3-pointers in over 2,200 minutes this year. Paul George, who scored 39 points, said Thursday hes still not over the collapse and is ready to play all 48 minutes if necessary to prevent another.
Not the graceful athlete like His Airness, who was on hand courtside at Time Warner Cable Arena as owner of the Hornets, or Bean, who bowed out with a signature 60-point performance at Staples Center earlier this month, Wade has made his name as ferocious competitor despite being somewhat undersized at 6-4.
Walker, though, was understandably upbeat as his team prevailed. We cant go and get ambushed. “That’s our mindset right now”.
Advertisement
The NBA said it releases the reports in an effort to be transparent and because it received inquiries from teams and media about certain calls in close games. “But welcome to the playoffs”. “The playoffs just started now”.
