Hornets edge Heat 127-126 in overtime after frantic final seconds

LaMelo Ball forced the Hornets through the kind of final minute that can expose a playoff team, then rescued them with the kind of shot that can define one. His driving layup with 4.7 seconds left in overtime lifted Charlotte past Miami 127-126 at Spectrum Center, a victory that kept the Hornets alive in the 2026 SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament and eliminated the Heat.

The game moved like a survival test. NBA.com called it a 53-minute classic with 16 lead changes and 17 ties, and the last minute of overtime delivered the sharpest contrast between composure and collapse. Tyler Herro first put Miami ahead 126-125 by making all three free throws after Ball turned it over in the backcourt and fouled him on a three-point attempt. Charlotte had no margin left, but after a timeout Ball attacked the right side of the lane and scored a leaning right-handed layup to flip the lead back with 4.7 seconds left. Miles Bridges then chased down Davion Mitchell and blocked a final layup attempt at the buzzer.

Ball finished with 30 points and 10 assists despite a 12-of-31 shooting night. Bridges supplied 28 points and nine rebounds, while Coby White scored 19 points off the bench, including 14 in the third quarter, to steady Charlotte during a long run of swings. The Hornets’ official recap said the win kept alive their chance to end the NBA’s longest active playoff drought and reach the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

Miami fought back repeatedly, led by Mitchell’s career-high-tying 28 points, Andrew Wiggins’ 27 and Herro’s 23. The Heat also had to navigate most of the night without Bam Adebayo, who left in the second quarter with a lower-back injury and did not return. Kel’el Ware absorbed the frontcourt burden and finished with 12 points, 19 rebounds and five blocks, but Miami could not close the last possession.

The structure of the game mattered as much as the final score. Charlotte’s late third-quarter burst, sparked by White’s bank shot and consecutive threes, opened a 10-0 run. Miami answered with fourth-quarter threes from Wiggins before White tied it again from the corner to force overtime. In the end, the Hornets did not win because they were clean. They won because Ball, Bridges and White made the last possessions count when every turnover, every timeout and every decision carried postseason weight.