Wayne Ellington leads Miami Heat to dramatic victory over Hornets
By Cory Sanning
The Miami Heat pulled off a dramatic victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday night.
It’s no secret that the Miami Heat have been playing their most consistent basketball of this season as of late.
Despite dropping two of their last three games, Miami has been silencing its critics as the All-Star break nears. That 82-game journey would continue Saturday night in Charlotte, with the Heat taking on the Hornets in a divisional showdown.
Wayne Ellington scored 26 points, starting in place of a banged up Goran Dragic, while James Johnson added 22 points, six rebounds and seven assists. Kelly Olynyk’s 16 points and 10 rebounds also helped Miami hold off the Hornets, 106-105.
Josh Richardson tallied 17 points and Hassan Whiteside recorded another double-double (10 points, 14 rebounds) in just 24 minutes for the Heat, who were still missing Tyler Johnson.
Despite missing their starting point guard, Ellington said his mindset never waivered.
"“My mindset doesn’t really change, I knew I wanted to be more aggressive,” Ellington said. “I just needed to start the game the way I come off the bench, so that’s what I tried to do tonight.”"
Nicolas Batum led Charlotte with 26 points, and Kemba Walker had 22, as the Hornets now find themselves at No. 11 in the East.
The Heat would race out to a quick lead in the early minutes, holding a 16-9 advantage following one of Ellington’s six 3-pointers. At one point, Miami led 26-15 before the Hornets pulled within 31-27 at the end of the first.
Miami would find much of the same success during the second period, outscoring Charlotte 26-21 during that span and holding a 57-48 advantage heading into the intermission, behind a strong quarter from Richardson and rookie Bam Adebayo.
The Heat would not find the same fortunes to start the second half, however.
Behind an explosive quarter from Batum and terrific shooting, the Hornets held a double-digit lead heading into the final period, leading 83-73 and appearing to be in complete control.
Realizing a victory was at stake, Miami came to life in the fourth. Olynyk, whom had just two points up until that point, was knocking down shots. He wound up with 14 fourth quarter points, and despite all that, the Heat were down five with less than 40 seconds to play.
That’s when James Johnson stepped in and took us back to the days of Reggie Miller. In a span of less than five seconds, Johnson single-handedly evened the game at 105, following an aggressive drive to the basket and a 3-pointer.
"“The biggest thing was that we wanted to finish on our terms in the fourth quarter,” head coach Erik Spoelstra said. “Just in terms of defending and showing much more toughness and grit than we did last night.”"
When speaking to reporters postgame, Johnson felt the need to take more of the offensive load on himself with three of Miami’s key players out.
"“I wanted to take that on myself,” Johnson said. “Whether it’s putting the ball in the bucket or putting my imprints all over defense.”"
Olynyk split a pair of free throws with 0.2 remaining, and the Heat were able to hang on for one of their most improbable victories on the season. The Heat will face the Houston Rockets in the coming days, one of their biggest tests of the year.
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With the midway point now behind them, it appears Miami controls its own destiny as the home stretch quickly approaches.