White Buries Last-Second 3-PT to Force OT, Bridges Blocks Mitchell at the Buzzer to Seal Win

Though it took one of the wildest and most heart-pounding finishes imaginable, the Charlotte Hornets found a way to edge out the Miami Heat, 127-126, in overtime in Tuesday night’s 9/10 Eastern Conference Play-In Game in front of a raucous Spectrum Center crowd. Now, they’re just one victory away from snapping the NBA’s longest active playoff drought.

Top Performers: LaMelo Ball led all players in both scoring (30 points on 12-of-31 shooting) and assists (10) to go along with five rebounds and a +15 plus-minus in 40 minutes. Miles Bridges (28) and Brandon Miller (23) both recorded 20-point performances and shot 5-of-10 from 3-point range, while Coby White had 19 points off the bench, 14 coming in the third quarter. Moussa Diabate added eight points and 14 rebounds, eight of which came on the offensive glass.

Davion Mitchell tied a career high with 28 points on 12-of-24 shooting in the loss, ending Miami’s three-year run of advancing out of the Play-In Tournament. Andrew Wiggins (27) and Tyler Herro (23) were right behind the former Baylor Bear in the scoring department. After the Heat lost big man Bam Adebayo to a lower back injury midway through the second quarter, starting center Kel’el Ware barely left the court again, finishing with 12 points on 5-of-12 shooting, two 3-pointers, a game-high 19 rebounds and a game-high five blocks in 42 minutes.

Turning Point: There were a whole bunch of them in this one, each one crazier than the last. With the Hornets down five and under four minutes to go in the third quarter, White caught fire and scored the final 11 points – included three 3-pointers, the last of which was a buzzer beater – as part of a 15-4 Charlotte run to close the frame. Miami retaliated with a 12-0 heater in the fourth, but the Hornets returned serve with a 7-0 spurt to knot the game at 102-102 with 4:27 to go. Both sides continued to trade 3-point haymakers, with Miami inching ahead by three following a pair of late Herro free throws. Given 13 seconds to work with, White quickly buried a well-contested 3-pointer just in front of the Miami bench to send the game to overtime.

Later, with Charlotte up five and only 26 seconds left in overtime, Herro sank a catch-and-shoot left corner 3-pointer off an inbounds pass to get the Heat back within two. Miami’s pressure forced a turnover from Ball, who inadvertently compounded the mistake by fouling Herro on a 3-point attempt. After Herro sank the go-ahead freebies, Ball redeemed himself by driving past Jamie Jaquez Jr. to roll in the game-winning layup. With no timeouts and only five seconds left, Mitchell went for a coast-to-coast bank shot but got blocked by Bridges at the buzzer.   

Survive and Advance

In the Play-In Tournament’s win-or-go-home format, sometimes it just comes down to doing whatever it takes to fight another day. The Hornets did exactly that and now will attempt to become the fifth team to advance to the NBA Playoffs after winning multiple play-in games (Memphis – 2021, Atlanta/New Orleans – 2022, Miami – 2025).

Several Season-Saving Clutch Plays

Charlotte has had difficulties pulling out clutch-time games this season, finishing with the league’s fourth-lowest winning percentage (10-18, .351), while Miami was 13^th best (17-16, .515). From White’s 3-pointer to Ball’s layup, then Bridges’ block and everything in between, the Hornets needed every single play they could muster to pull this victory out.

Overcoming an Off Shooting Night

White, Bridges, and Miller combined to shoot 15-of-28 from deep (54%), but the rest of Charlotte’s roster went a frosty 3-of-28 (11%) for an overall 18-of-56 clip (32%). The Hornets masked some of their inefficiencies by committing only eight turnovers for 11 Miami points and grabbing 17 offensive boards for 25 second-chance points.

Postgame Quote

“[This win] just shows the character of the team. These guys find a way to stick with it and not give in sometimes when things aren't going well… I thought that our execution at times was good and at times, it was not good. But, when it mattered, I thought we executed our side-out-of-bounds really well. Then that winning effort, competitiveness and togetherness to come up with a big-time block to end the game just shows kind of who we are.” – Hornets Head Coach Charles Lee

What’s Next?

The Hornets will travel to face the loser of Wednesday night’s game between the No. 7 Philadelphia 76ers and No. 8 Orlando on Friday, April 17 at 7:30 PM ET, with the winner receiving the East’s eighth and final playoff berth. Charlotte lost the season series to the 76ers, 2-1, but did beat the Magic three out of four times, including twice on the road.