Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
CLANK GOODNESS
Whiteside steps up late in fight for final playoff spot
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — You want works of art? Look higher in the standings.
You want playoff desperation? Look no further than this display between a pair of teams that each entered five games under .500 and tied for the eighth and final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference.
In a game played to the symphony of clanked jumpers and grunts after turnovers, the Miami Heat found a way Wednesday night in a 91-84 victory over the Charlotte Hornets at the Spectrum Center, albeit after nearly blowing all of a late 17-point lead.
Up 13 early and then lost in a rabbit hole of turnovers and passive play, the Heat regained their stride behind the play of their second unit at the start of the fourth quarter.
With Hassan Whiteside stepping up with an 18-point, 15-rebound double-double and Kelly Olynyk keeping the Heat afloat during the shakiest stages in a 22-point, 11-rebound effort, the Heat were able to push back to a double-digit lead midway through the fourth quarter.
Going in, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra forecast intensity, if not artistry.
“I think it’s safe to say both franchises know the context of this game,” he said. “I mention it to our guys all the time: This is what you want. You want your games to have meaning, and particularly at this time of year, you don’t want to play these games where’s there no significance.”
He added, “There’ll be pain to a loss and there’ll be great feeling to a win. And it has to be earned. And that’s ultimately what pro sports was intended for.”
It certainly was painful to watch most of the way, with extensive use of zone defense by both teams grinding the offenses to a near halt.
The Heat went into the fourth quarter up 61-58, the lowest-scoring game in the NBA through three quarters this season.
They then pushed their lead to 17 before the Hornets closed within 88-79, on a Frank Kaminsky 3-pointer with 2:18 to play. Later, with 1:35 to play, a Cody Zeller
inside basket drew Charlotte within 88-81. A Kemba Walker 3-pointer then made it 88-84.
Finally, with 20.6 seconds to play, the Heat’s Josh Richardson was fouled, making only the second of the two free throws, for an 89-84 lead.
Five degrees of Heat from Wednesday’s game:
1. Turnover fest: The Heat moved to their early 13-point lead in a first quarter that featured seven Charlotte turnovers. The favor then was repaid in a second period that featured nine Heat turnovers, allowing the Hornets to come all the
way back into a 43-43 tie.
The nine turnovers were the most by the Heat in any period this season.
Derrick Jones Jr. had four of the Heat’s early turnovers in his opening 4:24 stint, removed from the rotation at that stage. Center Bam Adebayo also had four first-half turnovers.
Both teams proved flustered by the zone defenses, with each team often settling back into a zone after a dead-ball turnover.
The teams had a combined 25 turnovers by the intermission, with the Heat limited to 14 second-quarter points, the fewest
points in the second period by a Charlotte opponent this season.
2. Adebayo’s turn: The Heat stayed with Adebayo as their starting center, rewarded by a 4-of-4 first half from the second-year center.
To his credit, Whiteside was aggressive in entering off the bench for only the second time over the past three seasons, with a pair of early blocked shots.
James Johnson remained out of the rotation, with Dwyane Wade, Rodney McGruder Jones and Whiteside playing as the four reserves.
3. Purely passive: The Heat’s third free throw did not come until 5:16 remained in the third period, when Wade got to the line -and missed both foul shots -- with the Heat otherwise settling for outside shots.
Of the Heat’s first two free throws, one was for a Hornets illegal-defense violation, with the other an and-one opportunity by Jones that was off.
4. Guardedly awful: Wade stood 1 of 10 from the field at the end of the opening period and Dion Waiters 2 of 11.
With Goran Dragic back in South Florida nursing a calf injury, the Heat were limited in their backcourt options, with McGruder 0 for 3 through the opening three periods.
It was a night when the addition-by-subtraction trades of Tyler Johnson and Wayne Ellington hardly felt that way through the first three periods.
Finally, Wade began to find his scoring game in the fourth quarter, with McGruder adding a 3-pointer during the Heat’s rally.
5. Playmaker: While he wasn’t part of the Heat’s fourth-quarter surge, point guard Justise Winslow still had his moments, closing with nine points, seven assists and four rebounds.