CHARLOTTE, N.C. — LaMelo Ball drove for a game-deciding layup with 4.7 seconds left in overtime and Miles Bridges blocked Davion Mitchell’s buzzer attempt as the Charlotte Hornets escaped with a 127-126 victory over the Miami Heat in Tuesday’s play-in opener, eliminating Miami from the postseason.
Ball finished with 30 points and 10 assists, and Bridges added 28 points and nine rebounds as Charlotte notched its first postseason home victory in a decade. Coby White scored 19 points, including a turnaround 3-pointer with 10.8 seconds remaining in regulation that forced overtime.
The Hornets will travel Friday to face the loser of Wednesday’s Philadelphia-Orlando game for the Eastern Conference’s eighth seed, continuing a bid to reach the playoffs for the first time in 10 years.
“My kids told me I’m not allowed to say ‘lit’ anymore. But I thought that the environment in there was exactly how I pictured it,” Hornets coach Charles Lee said of the Spectrum Center crowd. “The support all game from the crowd, the noise, the everything, the drama — we were glad to pull this one out for the Charlotte fans. They’ve helped us all year.”
Ball became the fourth player to record at least 30 points and 10 assists in a play-in game, joining Josh Giddey (2023), Kyrie Irving (2022) and Damian Lillard (2020).
For Miami, Davion Mitchell scored 28 points and Andrew Wiggins had 27. The Heat also lost Bam Adebayo to a lower-back injury after a second-quarter trip involving Ball. Miami will miss the playoffs for the first time since 2018-19.
“There’s nothing to be ashamed of with our locker room,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “You want to feel worthy to win, and our guys felt that tonight. We just didn’t get the win. That can happen, and it’s something we have to live with in the offseason.”
The finish in overtime was frantic. Ball’s drive put Charlotte up by five with 26 seconds left, but he then committed two costly errors: Tyler Herro — who finished with 23 points — hit a twisting corner 3, and Ball turned the ball over in the backcourt before fouling Herro on a 3-point attempt. Herro made all three free throws to give Miami a 126-125 lead with 8.7 seconds to play.
After the Hornets’ timeout, Ball attacked the right side of the lane and converted a leaning, right-handed layup to reclaim the lead. Miami, out of timeouts, hurried back downcourt and Mitchell’s layup was rejected by Bridges at the buzzer, sparking jubilant celebration in Charlotte.
“We drew up a good play, I feel like, and just orchestrated it,” Ball said.
Miami had led for much of the game despite Adebayo’s injury. Late in the third, a 10-0 Charlotte run — sparked by White banking in a 3 and hitting another from the top of the key — swung momentum. White, acquired midseason from Chicago, hit another 3 at the third-quarter buzzer to give Charlotte an 89-83 advantage.
The Heat responded in the fourth, building a 102-95 lead on two long-range baskets from Wiggins. Charlotte tied the game when White caught an inbounds pass and buried an off-balance corner 3. Herro then had a chance to win the game in regulation but his 3 at the buzzer rimmed out.
The Associated Press and ESPN Research contributed to this report.