As Charlotte’s sharpshooting duo of LaMelo Ball and Kon Knueppel went cold, Coby White did not.
The trade-deadline acquisition for the Hornets forced overtime with clutch 3-point shooting to force overtime against the Miami Heat Tuesday night.
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Then Ball redeemed himself from a poor shooting night and a late mistake to seal a 127-126 win with a go-ahead layup in the final seconds.
Ball was fresh off a critical foul of Tyler Herro on the other end as Herro shot and missed a 3.
Herro had just hit a 3 to cut Charlotte’s lead to 125-123. Ball then turned the ball over on the ensuing Charlotte possession and responded with a bad foul. When Herro got the ball in the corner, Ball fouled him as he fell backward out of bounds on a shot that didn’t hit the rim.
Herro hit all three free throws to cap a 6-0 Heat run in less than 20 seconds that gave Miami a 126-125 lead with 8.7 seconds. But Ball redeemed himself with the late game-winner that has the chance to propel the Hornets to their first playoff series since 2016.
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With the win, Charlotte advances to the second round of the NBA play-in with a berth in the playoffs at stake. The Hornets will take on the loser of Tuesday’s game between the 76ers and Magic for the No. 8 seed in the East. Miami’s season is over.
Coby White delivers
The game wouldn’t have gone to overtime if not for White’s heroics.
With the game on the line and a 3-point deficit in final seconds of regulation, Charlotte benched Knueppel, who led the NBA in made 3s this season. Charlotte instead set up a play for White, who’d entered the fourth quarter shooting 4 of 5 from 3.
He delivered with his fifth made 3 on an unlikely turnaround shot with a hand in his face.
The shot ultimately forced overtime, where Charlotte prevailed for the win on Ball’s late shot.
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This story will be updated.