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Miami Heat: Three takeaways from big win over Hornets

By Duncan Smith

MIAMI, FL - MARCH 17: Dwyane Wade #3 of the Miami Heat brings the ball up the court in the first half against the Charlotte Hornets at American Airlines Arena on March 17, 2019 in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FL - MARCH 17: Dwyane Wade #3 of the Miami Heat brings the ball up the court in the first half against the Charlotte Hornets at American Airlines Arena on March 17, 2019 in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) /
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MIAMI, FL – MARCH 17: Dwyane Wade #3 of the Miami Heat brings the ball up the court in the first half against the Charlotte Hornets at American Airlines Arena on March 17, 2019 in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FL – MARCH 17: Dwyane Wade #3 of the Miami Heat brings the ball up the court in the first half against the Charlotte Hornets at American Airlines Arena on March 17, 2019 in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) /

The Miami Heat entered Sunday’s game against the Charlotte Hornets in desperation mode, and after a slow start they asserted their dominance and pulled out a win. We’ll look at what we learned.

The Miami Heat couldn’t afford a loss Sunday afternoon against the visiting Charlotte Hornets. A defeat would have dropped them into ninth place in the Eastern Conference with a deep hole to climb out of.

As it turns out, the Heat didn’t mess around and flexed their muscle in the second half to come up with a 93-75 blowout win to keep their hold on the eight seed.

The Heat were without starting point guard Justise Winslow, and Dwyane Wade was questionable with an elbow injury until shortly before tip off.

It was an ugly game with both teams shooting under 40 percent from the field, but the Heat benefited from strong performances from Wade, Goran Dragic and Bam Adebayo. The Heat move to 13-0 on the season when holding their opponents under 40 percent shooting.

As discussed in our preview, limiting the damage Kemba Walker could do was critical for victory. Walker scored just 10 points on 4-of-16 shooting and 2-of-10 from 3-point range. This was tied for his third-worst scoring output of the season, and the Heat were +13 in Walker’s 36 minutes of action.

The Miami Heat will travel to Oklahoma City to face the Thunder (who will be without a suspended Russell Westbrook) on Monday night, but as we consider this win we’ll take a look at several key takeaways.

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