Charlotte Hornets beat Miami Heat in what could be the last night of the NBA season

Rick Bonnell
·2 min read

The Charlotte Hornets won what could be their last game of the season, beating the Miami Heat 109-98 as the NBA announced it was suspending its season indefinitely.

The NBA announced Wednesday night that it will suspend the season starting Thursday, in response to a Utah Jazz player testing positive for the novel coronavirus. That player is reportedly Utah Jazz All-Star Rudy Gobert.

The Hornet got 30 points from Devonte Graham in the victory, recovering from a first-quarter deficit of as much as 20 points.

Nice Buzz

There was a span in the second and third quarters when the Hornets outscored the Heat — in Miami — by 31 points. Graham got on one of his occasional wild streaks from the 3-point arc, hitting seven of his first eight attempts. He needed to be great for Charlotte to have any chance, with Terry Rozier (coming off a career-best 40 points in Atlanta) missing the game.

Bee Stings

The first quarter might have been the worst defensively the Hornets played all season, and that’s quite a statement considering the game in Milwaukee. Miami shot 16-of-19 from the field and 8-of-9 from 3-point range. The Heat’s 40 points were the most by a Charlotte opponent in any first quarter this season. A big contributing factor was the Hornets’ six first-quarter turnovers, three of them by Graham.

Building Blocks

Rozier sat out Wednesday’s game with a cold, so coach James Borrego had backup point guard minutes to fill. While Joe Chealey (on his second 10-day contract) played a little, most of the ball-handling when Graham was sitting went to rookie Cody Martin. The Hornets were attracted to Martin’s ball-handling and passing when they drafted him in the second round in June. He probably won’t end up a point guard, but he can sure be a secondary facilitator.

Beyond the Numbers

Before the game, Borrego talked about the coronavirus concerns — how beyond the formal guidelines the league is sending out, he’s been reminding the players to exercise judgment about ways to keep themselves safe from infection. As Borrego said, the young age group leaves them with a false sense they’re indestructible.