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 However, the Hornets adjusted, and now they are making the Heat
pay in other ways.
The Hornets pulled out an 89-85 victory in Game 4 on Monday night to
even the best-of-seven Eastern Conference first-round series at two
games apiece, and they did it by attacking the basket with drive
after drive after drive from guards Kemba Walker and Jeremy Lin.
Game 5 is scheduled for Wednesday in Miami.
Walker scored 34 points, including 11 straight in a key stretch in
the fourth quarter. Lin added 21 off the bench on a night when the
Hornets scored almost half their points -- 44 of 89 -- in the paint.
"We are not a one-dimensional team," Walker said. "We can get to the
basket when we have to, and that's what we were able to do tonight.
We've had to make plays, and we've been able to make plays."
The Hornets were third in the NBA in 3-pointers during the regular
season, but they shot just 4-for-17 from 3-point range on Monday
night and have made just 16 3-pointers in the first four games.
 "This is so different for our team," Charlotte coach Steve Clifford
said. "They're taking away so many of the things we like to do.
They're making us play differently than what we've done most of the
year, but we're doing what we need to do. We're playing aggressively
and driving the ball, and Kemba is getting it done. You know how he
is, he is just so confident late in the game."
For Walker, it was an emphatic bounce-back after he went 4-for-19
from the field in the Hornets' 96-80 Game 3 win.
Walker finished 13-for-28 from the field Monday, plus 6-for-7 from
the free-throw line. He scored all the points in a 7-0 run after the
Heat cut an 18-point deficit to one, allowing the Hornets to pull
back ahead 85-77 with 3:49 remaining, and then he tacked on the
Hornets' next two baskets.
"Throughout the year, I've made big plays down the stretch," Walker
said. "That's what I'm known for. Everyone told me, 'It's time to
win, it's time to win,' and that's when you've got to be able to
make them. I just wanted to be aggressive, and if I can score,
score, and if not, trust my teammates."
This was a game with wild momentum swings. The Heat led by 11 early
and 26-19 after one quarter, but the Hornets outscored Miami 29-13
in the second quarter for a 48-39 halftime lead. The Hornets then
scored the first nine points of the third quarter for an 18-point
lead, but the Heat immediately responded with a 17-1 run to cut the
margin to 58-56.
Miami got as close as one on three occasions down the stretch but
could never take the lead.
Lin was 6-for-10 from the field and 8-for-9 from the line, as he,
too, was constantly attacking the Heat's middle. The Hornets also
got 11 points from Courtney Lee, whose offensive rebound and two
free throws with 4.6 seconds remaining sealed the win.
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Joe Johnson led the Heat with 16 points. Luol Deng scored 15, and
Dwyane Wade and Goran Dragic scored 12 apiece. However, the Heat
shot just 39.5 percent from the field and committed 17 turnovers
that the Hornets converted into 18 points.
Charlotte shot 40 percent and gave the ball away nine times, leading
to 10 Miami points.
"It felt more like throwback, old-school Eastern Conference
basketball," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "Both teams shooting
under 40 percent, a lot of physical plays out there. It was about
who could endure and make the last few plays, and they were able to
make those last few plays. But this is probably what you can expect,
and that's what we said going into the series.
"You've got two teams with the same record that split the season
series. It's going to be tough. Nobody said it was going to be easy.
We just have to gather ourselves and get ready for a big game at
home on Wednesday."
NOTES: The Hornets were without F Nicolas Batum, who hurt his left
ankle in Game 2 last Wednesday and did not play in Game 3 on
Saturday. ... Heat C Hassan Whiteside played despite a right thigh
contusion but was largely ineffective, finishing with eight points
and seven rebounds in 25 minutes. He had double-doubles in each of
the first three games, becoming the first player in franchise
history to have double-doubles in three straight playoff games. ...
The Hornets announced a sellout crowd of 19,156, but there were
large sections of empty seats in the upper deck. ... The Heat have
won at least one road game in each of their last 16 playoff series,
which is the longest such streak in NBA history. That streak would
end if they don't beat the Hornets in Game 6 in Charlotte on Friday
night.
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
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