December 29, 2016
Richardson was feeling himself, coming off of a 22-point game.
After he tied his career-high at home against the Thunder, the guard recorded 20 points on the road, versus the Charlotte Hornets. On 8-of-14 shooting from the field (going 3-for-5 from downtown), no less. He also ended the night with 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block and 1 steal. All in 33 minutes of play.
Dragic had returned by then, but it was clear he was still not one hundred percent. Although he put in 32 minutes and dished out an impressive eight assists, he finished with just five points. Not exactly representative of a guy who averaged 20.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 5.8 assists on the year.
Unfortunately, Richardson’s big game wasn’t enough to keep the team afloat. Miami lost 91-82, as Kemba Walker totaled 22 points and Nicholas Batum had 16. The difference happening in the third quarter.
After an 8-0 run, the Hornets never looked back, shooting 56.5 percent as a team in the third. Despite No. 0 getting off eight points in the final four minutes of the first half, bringing the Heat up 49-42 going into the third.
So what happened?
"“We just weren’t coherent, didn’t get organized and made some sloppy turnovers and we paid the price for it,” according to Spoelstra."
A loss or not, this game was still one of Richardson’s best of last season. He showed consistency from the previous game, while being able to adjust to sharing the floor with Dragic, and kept a level head.
Nevermind that he proved his worth as a 3-point shooter.