LaMelo Ball and the Charlotte Hornets pulled off a come-from-behind 127-126 overtime win against the Miami Heat on Tuesday. The point guard made a layup with 4.7 seconds remaining to give his team the lead. Miles Bridges blocked Davion Mitchell’s potential game-winning layup to eliminate the Heat.
Fans reacted to Charlotte’s gritty win against the more experienced Miami outfit. One fan wrote:
“Best Play-in Game of All Time.”
Another fan added:
“My goodness, this is more fun than the NBA Finals, man.”
One more fan continued:
“LaMelo absolutely saved face at the end. He would have never heard the end of it.”
Another fan commented:
“They still aren’t making the playoffs.”
One fan tweeted:
“Charlotte vs Detroit. Need that series.”
Charlotte led 89-83 after three quarters before Miami’s early onslaught in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter allowed it to take a 94-93 advantage. The Heat pushed their lead to 111-105 with 2:16 remaining after Tyler Herro drilled a 30-footer.
The Hornets battled back to tie the game at 114 apiece after Coby White nailed a 23-foot fade-away jumper. Herro missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer, forcing the game into a five-minute extension.
The Heat and the Hornets went back and forth in the extra period. Charlotte took a 125-120 lead with 26 seconds following LaMelo Ball’s layup. Tyler Herro responded by dropping six straight points to put the home team on the brink of elimination.
Ball prevented that from happening by making another layup before Miles Bridges sealed the win with a block.
LaMelo Ball Nearly Cost Hornets the Game
LaMelo Ball was nearly the goat before he became the hero against the Heat. After Tyler Herro cut the lead to 125-123 with a 3-pointer, Ball committed a turnover, allowing Miami forward Pelle Larsson to steal the ball.
Ball compounded his mistake by fouling Herro from the 3-point line. Herro nearly dragged his team to the finish line by going 3-for-3 from the 4.5-meter line.
With the Hornets’ season on the line, LaMelo Ball evaded Jaime Jaquez Jr. for a closely contested layup. Miami, which refused to call a timeout, inbounded the ball quickly before Charlotte’s defense could set.
Davion Mitchell sprinted to the other end for a layup before Bridges and Brandon Miller swallowed Mitchell’s shot at the rim. Ball emerged as the hero, but he could have been nearly the goat.
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