Walker had 11 straight Charlotte points during a crucial stretch midway through the fourth quarter and finished with a playoff career-high 34 points to lead the Hornets to an 89-85 victory over the Miami Heat on Monday night, evening the first-round series at 2-2.
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Wade shot a combined 35.5 percent in Games 3 and 4 after amassing 28 points in the Heat’s 115-103 win in Game 2.
Miami Heat forward Luol Deng (9) dribbles the ball as Charlotte Hornets center Frank Kaminsky III (44) defends in game two of the first round of the NBA Playoffs during the second quarter at American Airlines Arena. 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.
Miami built a double-digit lead in the first quarter and led 26-19 heading into the second period.
He was upgraded to questionable on Sunday after missing Saturday’s Game 3 victory, but Hornets coach Steve Clifford said Batum was unable to participate in the shootaround ahead of Game 4. When he was in the game in their four games against Miami, the Hornets were a plus-14.1 points per 100 possessions.
The Charlotte Hornets have, officially, responded. Look for the Heat to bounce back tonight and give the Hornets all they can handle.
With Hornets missing the services of Nicolas Batum, Lin has seen increased playing time, often sharing the backcourt with Walker or just running the second unit. They went 30-11 at home in the regular season. Walker is oozing with confidence and has become the game changer of the series after four games played.
Kemba Walker had 17 for Charlotte.
The teams will head back to Miami for Game 5 on Wednesday night, with a Game 6 now assured for Friday night in Charlotte.
The Miami Heat need to play better in every aspect of the game if they want to beat the Hornets in a critical game 4. All told, Charlotte went on an extended 36-8 run and was up 18 at one point.
Players on Charlotte’s bench all stood and cheered, including owner Michael Jordan. “There ain’t really too much you can do except get ice and treatment on it. I believe I can go”. Hassan Whiteside had 13 points and 18 rebounds but battled foul trouble.
Game five is on Tuesday in Toronto.
Toronto Raptors’ DeMar DeRozan (10) is defended by Indiana Pacers’ Paul George (13) during the second half of Game 4 of an NBA first-round playoff basketball series Saturday, April 23, 2016, in Indianapolis. Beside Whiteside, Miami will play without Chris Bosh and Tyler Johnson, who may return to the floor in a game or two.
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With a game-opening 3-pointer, Damian Lillard set the tone and the Trail Blazers followed.
