MIAMI — Kelly Oubre Jr. and Terry Rozier both surpassed 20 points on Thursday night but the Charlotte Hornets lost their seventh game in a row in a matchup with the Miami Heat.
The Hornets uncharacteristically had a great fourth quarter and tied the game after falling behind by 12 points to force overtime. Miami performed just a bit better in the extra period, though, before a traveling call eliminated Charlotte's last real shot at the game. Miami won 117-112.
Charlotte's only lead before the fourth quarter came on the game's first points with Oubre sinking a 3-pointer to give the Hornets an early lead. The Heat took over from there, though, by going on runs of 8-0 and 7-0 throughout the quarter to give themselves a 32-27 after the first period.
More of the same happened in the second quarter. The Heat led by as much as 10 points before heading into halftime with a 58-50 lead.
During Charlotte's losing streak, the team has been plagued with weak second-half performances following decent first-halves. When the Hornets only put up 23 points in the third quarter and trailed 85-73 heading into the final period, it seemed to be more of the same story.
Then, the Hornets exploded on a 17-4 run that gave them a 90-89 lead with just under seven minutes to go. Efficient shooting from P.J. Washington and Jalen McDaniels, among others, made the comeback possible along with several missed shots by the Heat.
Both teams traded the lead for the rest of the fourth quarter. The Hornets led by as much as five points after a 3-pointer by Oubre in the closing stages.
Miami took a 104-102 lead after a Jimmy Butler shot with just 36 seconds left.
The Hornets responded in just 10 seconds to tie the game with a Dennis Smith Jr. layup.
Butler held the ball until the clock ran down to five seconds but missed his chance to give the Heat a late lead. Time ran out and the game went into overtime.
Charlotte took a 109-106 lead with an Oubre 3-pointer but the Heat went on a 5-0 run to jump back in front.
The Heat held a 113-112 lead when Butler missed a shot with just 16 seconds left.
The Hornets took a timeout and had the ball with a chance to make the winning shot.
But just as the ball was thrown into play, Oubre was called for traveling and Charlotte's hopes were disintegrated. A few free throws made the final score 117-112.
Charlotte had a better shooting percentage (48.9%) than Miami (43.3%) but free throws made the difference on the night with Miami scoring 29 to Charlotte's 12.
Butler led the game with 35 points shooting 11 of 19 from the field and making 13 of 15 free throws.
Oubre led the Hornets with 29 points. Rozier finished with 22 points.
Now 3-10, Charlotte will stay in south Florida to play the Heat (5-7) again on Saturday.