On the morning of February 18, 2022, Beijing time, the NBA regular season ushered in a showdown in the East, Hornets vs Heat. As a result, the Hornets won by the Heat 30-37, 24-10, 17-17, 26-23, 20-24 in overtime, and 107-111 on aggregate. The Heat played abnormally in the beginning of this game, it can be said that the whole line was dudded, and only scored 10 points in the second quarter, but fortunately, in the last minute, veteran Lowry played well and turned the tide.
Before the game, the Hornets were 9th in the East with a record of 29 wins and 30 losses, and the Heat were 2nd in the East with a record of 37 wins and 21 losses, and the Hornets were at a disadvantage of 3 wins and 6 losses in the previous 9 meetings, and the Heat also maintained a four-game winning streak against the Hornets.
Judging by their recent form, Huang Feng has suffered Waterloo, with only one victory in the last nine games, and two consecutive defeats in the last two rounds, if it were not for the number of wins in the early 2021, they would have fallen out of the top 10 in the East. It should be said that if they are not careful at the moment, their hopes of entering the playoffs will be gone.
The Heat have been playing decently lately, losing unexpectedly to the Lone Rangers in the last round after five straight wins. In this round of competition, veterans like Butler and Lowry will play a very important role.
Let's take a look at the starting lineups of the two teams, the Hornets started: Ball, Rozier, Bridges, Washington, Plumley, and the Heat starters: Lowry, Robinson, Butler, Tucker, Adebayo.
In the first quarter, Heat forward Adebayo and Hornets center Plumlee jumped, and Butler missed the following three-point shot. Ball's first pass error from the start proved that he was not in good shape, and in the first quarter, the Hornets trailed 30-37.
In the second quarter, the Heat, who were in good shape in the first quarter, suddenly stepped on the brakes, made frequent mistakes, and scored only 10 points in a single quarter, while the Huangfeng team scored 24 points, and this section also set the lowest score the Heat scored in a single quarter of the season. At the end of the half, Huang Feng overtook the score 54-47.
Half-time scoring:
Heat: Adebayo 9 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists, Lowry 6 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists, Duncan Robinson 6 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist, Tucker 6 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist, Butler 4 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists, Jurt Cevenn 8 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist, Highsmith 4 points and 1 rebound, Vincent 2 points, 1 rebound, Strus 2 points and 1 rebound.
Hornets: Bridges 13 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists, Ball 10 points, 3 rebounds and 6 assists, Rozier 3 points and 2 assists, Washington 2 points, 7 rebounds and 1 assist, Plumlee 1 rebound and 1 assist, Oubre 15 points, Harrell 8 points and 1 rebound, JT-Sol 3 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist, Bucknett 1 rebound and 2 assists.
In the third quarter, both teams did a good job of defending on the inside, which was destined to be a very interesting game. In terms of turnovers and shooting percentages, both teams are 40%, and this aberration is really jaw-dropping. As a result, in the third quarter, both teams scored 17 points at the same time, such a low single-quarter score, which is indeed rare in the NBA.
In the fourth quarter, the Heat's four offensive attempts all ended in error, and the Hornets made it 7-0 in the opening stage. It wasn't until 7:57 left in the game that the Heat's Duncan Robinson received an assist from Butler and hit a three-point shot to achieve the quarter's score. But the Hornets were under the brave charge of Harrell, Ball, and Washington, and the Heat seemed overwhelmed. In view of this, the Heat urgently called a pause.
After the timeout, the Heat's offense improved, trailing the score to 81-84. Duncan Robinson then hit another three-pointer, and the Heat came up 86-85. As a result, the fourth quarter of the game ended, the two sides fought 14-22, the total score of 87-87, into the 5 minutes of overtime.
In the first extra time, the two teams again fought a 97-97 draw, and the game entered the second extra time. As a result, through two signings, the Hornets were 20-24, 107-111 on aggregate, and suffered a big reversal by the Heat.
The match also set 3 records. First, the Heat scored just 10 points in the second quarter, the lowest single-quarter scoring record the season; second, the Heat held on to a five-game winning streak against the Hornets.