LaMelo Ball's last-second layup leads Hornets over Heat in NBA Play-In Tournament thriller

Atlantic76ersCelticsKnicksNetsRaptorsCentralBucksBullsCavaliersPacersPistonsSoutheastHawksHeatHornetsMagicWizardsSouthwestGrizzliesMavericksPelicansRocketsSpursNorthwestJazzNuggetsThunderTimberwolvesTrail BlazersPacificClippersKingsLakersSunsWarriorsScores & ScheduleStandingsThe Bounce NewsletterNBA DraftPodcastsFantasyNBA OddsNBA PicksLatest Power RankingsThe Bucks' Season From HellPlayer Poll: Who Is The MVP?Draft Lottery OddsNBA Postseason LaMelo Ball carried Charlotte over Miami in one of the best games in the short history of the Play-In Tournament. Jacob Kupferman / Getty Images Share full article3The Charlotte Hornets overcame horrific shooting nights from star guards LaMelo Ball and Kon Knueppel to survive a 127-126 overtime thriller against the Miami Heat in the  Play-In Tournament on Tuesday, ending Miami’s season. Ball, the Hornets’ star, gave the Hornets the lead for good with a go-ahead layup in the closing seconds of overtime. Then, Charlotte survived when Davion Mitchell’s layup reply was blocked. Ball and Knueppel combined to shoot 2-of-21 on 3-pointers in regulation, and the Hornets made just 17-of-53 from that distance through four quarters. But the Hornets, the No. 1 team in 3-pointers made during the regular season, got a game-tying 3 from trade deadline acquisition Coby White with 10.8 seconds left in regulation, and Miami’s Tyler Herro missed a potential game-winner to send the game to overtime. Ball then redeemed himself with the game-winning layup on a drive with 4.8 seconds remaining. LAMELO GO-AHEAD BUCKET.BRIDGES BLOCK TO SEAL IT. CHARLOTTE WILL PLAY FOR THE EAST 8-SEED ON FRIDAY! pic.twitter.com/SwhbsXGskZ “We stuck with it,” Ball told Amazon Prime’s Cassidy Hubbarth during an on-court postgame interview. “We grinded it out. We weren’t hitting a lot of 3s. A lot of shots we weren’t hitting, but, like I said, we stuck with it.” White, acquired from the Chicago Bulls in February, scored 17 of his 19 points off the bench in the second half, including 15 third-quarter points. “Coby White’s great for us,” Ball said. “He can make big plays. A great teammate. A great dude. We love having him here.” Ball finished with a game-high 30 points despite going 2-of-16 from 3-point range. He added five rebounds and 10 assists. Miles Bridges scored 28 points with nine rebounds, Brandon Miller had 23 points with six assists and Moussa Diabate scored eight points with a team-high 15 rebounds, including eight on the offensive end for the Hornets. Miami was forced to play the game’s final 40 minutes without injured star big man Bam Adebayo, who exited early in the second quarter with a lower back injury and did not return. Davion Mitchell led the Heat with 28 points, four rebounds and six assists in 48 minutes. Andrew Wiggins added 27 points, and Kel’el Ware had 12 points, 19 rebounds and five blocks for the Heat. The Hornets advanced to play the loser of Wednesday’s Play-In game between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Orlando Magic. Here are some takeaways on the first night of Play-In action. Only one team in the NBA took a greater percentage of their shots behind the 3-point line than the Hornets, who attempted 45.2 percent of their shots from deep this season. Over a large sample size, the Hornets made that work. They shot well enough and hit the offensive glass hard enough to tilt the math in their favor and turn their season around after a 4-14 start. Those tactics, however, were always going to put them at risk in a single-elimination game. And they nearly ended up biting the Hornets on Tuesday night. They made just 18 of their 56 3-point attempts, or 32.1 percent, well below their season-long 3-point average of 37.8 percent. The Heat went to a zone defense in the fourth quarter and Charlotte couldn’t manage to shoot them out of it, knocking down just 4-of-17 from behind the line in the final 12 minutes of regulation. They recovered in overtime but were very close to never even getting that chance. In the regular season, rookie revelation Kon Knueppel led the league in made 3-pointers with 273, while Ball finished second in the category with 272. On Tuesday night, Knueppel went just 2-of-12 from the field, including 0-of-6 from 3. Ball managed to make an impact on the night with 26 points, five rebounds, 10 assists and the game-winner, but he made only two of his 16 attempts from behind the 3-point line. When the Hornets needed a 3 late in the game, Hornets coach Charles Lee chose against putting Knueppel in the game. White bailed them out with a massive 3 to tie the game and force overtime. But while the Hornets squeaked out a win in their first Play-In game, it will be interesting to see how Knueppel bounces back on Friday night after a brutal performance and getting benched in his first NBA postseason game. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms