Charlotte, the bottom team of the Eastern Conference, inflicted a first defeat in four games in Miami (122-117), thanks among other things to 31 points from Terry Rozier, Sunday in the NBA. It’s a setback suffered by the Heat, which seemed on a good run, including a success against the leader, Boston, last Wednesday.
But the team led by Jimmy Butler, who did not deserve with 28 points (at 11/14, 7 rebounds, 3 interceptions), broke down in the third quarter (33-24) under the battering of PJ Washington, author of 15 of his 27 points in this period. The Hornets also relied on LaMelo Ball to finish the job in the final twelve minutes, with 13 of his 19 points scored.
On the Heat side, still 6th in the standings, Tyler Herro (24 pts) performed well, but Bam Adebayo a little less than usual inside (17 pts, 6 rebounds). Three other matches are on the Sunday schedule: Memphis-Indiana, Cleveland-Clippers and Milwaukee-New Orleans.
