Kemba and Jeremy Lin carried Charlotte in a major way on Monday night, both players stepping up their games for the NBA Playoffs and maintaining the lead, despite the Heat throwing haymakers and some of their best punches. The game is scheduled for a 7:00 p.m. start time and it will be televised nationally on NBA TV.
Advertisement
With the win against Miami, the Hornets snapped a 12-game losing streak in the postseason dating back to the original Hornets in 2002. The Hornets will again be without one of their best players.Kemba Walker contributed 17 points for the Hornets and rookie Frank Kaminsky added 15. The Hornets committed only 4 turnovers to Miami’s 15.
Lillard finished with 32 points and Portland rediscovered its offense at home, beating the Los Angeles Clippers 96-88 to pull within 2-1 in the Western Conference first-round series.
Now the attention turns to Erik Spoelstra and the Heat as they figure out ways to counter Charlotte’s winning solution. Aminu made 11 of 20 shots from the field, including six of 10 from 3-point range.
For the first time since the All-Star break, Chris Bosh was with the Heat for a road game.
Charlotte’s bench outscored Miami’s 34-13 Saturday night, led by Jeremy Lin’s team-high 18 points.
At least for one game, during Game 3, the Charlotte Hornets flipped the script on the Miami Heat. Dwyane Wade is averaging 18.3 points and 6.5 assists while Hassan Whiteside is averaging 14.8 points and 12.3 rebounds.
A three-pointer by Gerald Green cut Charlotte’s lead to 76-75 with 6:07 to play.
“Throughout my career I have made big plays – that is what I’m known for”, Walker said.
George Hill added 22 points for the Pacers in the win on their home floor in Indianapolis, which knotted the best-of-seven first-round Eastern Conference series at two games apiece. That was a remarkable turnaround from Game 2, when Miami shot 74.4 percent from the field in the opening half and scored 73 points. The Hornets also consistently doubled Whiteside early in pick-and-roll situations, making it harder for the Heat ball handler to get the 7-footer the ball on the run. But after a Walker miss, Courtney Lee, who just got an offensive rebound on the play before, garnered his second straight offensive board and sank two free throws to make it a two-possession game with four seconds left. Game 4 is Charlotte’s shot.
With Wade and fellow 30-somethings Luol Deng and Joe Johnson logging heavy minutes, the Heat weren’t able to keep up down the stretch in Saturday’s 96-80 loss at Charlotte and Monday’s 89-85 defeat in Game 4.
Advertisement
A three-pointer by Westbrook late in the third quarter put the Thunder ahead 93-79, and Oklahoma City took a 93-83 lead into the fourth quarter.
