For a second straight game, the Miami Heat defeated the Charlotte Hornets in convincing fashion largely due to its outburst on the offensive end. With the 115-103 win tonight, the Heat will take a 2-0 series lead into Charlotte this Saturday for Game 3.
Hassan Whiteside got the Heat started early, and it became obvious Charlotte simply had no answer for him. When Whiteside picked up his second foul with 5:02 left in the first quarter, the Hornets wisely took advantage of his absence. After losing the first quarter 41-22 last game, the Hornets managed to tie the Heat 29-29 at the end of this first quarter.
What followed next was nothing short of historic. After last game’s historic offensive first quarter that saw the Heat score 41 points, the Heat responded with a 43-point second quarter in this game. Miami’s first half was amongst the best in franchise history, making it extremely difficult for the Hornets to climb back and stay in the game:
(2/2) @MiamiHEAT#NBAPlayoffs franchise records in 1st half of #HEATvHORNETS
Pts in a Half (72)
FG% in a Half (74.4%)
FGM in a Half (29)
— NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats) April 21, 2016
As for Charlotte, the two-headed dragon of Kemba Walker and Al Jefferson combined for 54 points and kept the Hornets within a 15-point vicinity, even throughout Miami’s absurd second quarter offensive performance. Al Jefferson abused in the post against Miami’s Hassan Whiteside and Amar’E Stoudemire, finishing the night with 25 points on 12-15 shooting off the bench. CBS Sports summed it up nicely:
Quick update on what Al Jefferson is doing to the Heat defense: pic.twitter.com/jGvqaFCnOi
— CBS Sports NBA (@CBSSportsNBA) April 20, 2016
Kemba Walker was in attack mode during the first half, going right at the league’s leading shot blocker Hassan Whiteside on multiple occasions. However, Heat guard Dwyane Wade eventually grew tired of Walker’s antics:
Dont worry Josh, D-Wade’s got your back! #HeatNationhttps://t.co/QRKdj7DhMa
— NBA On Def Pen (@NBAOnDefPen) April 21, 2016
Last game’s assassin for the Hornets, Nicolas Batum, exited the game in the second half after rolling his already injured left ankle:
FYI: Batum’s ankle isn’t supposed to bend that way. https://t.co/Pz5XPGrB9t
— Dan Favale (@danfavale) April 21, 2016
Head coach Steve Clifford stated after the game he is “very concerned” with Batum’s ankle injury. Batum’s status for Game 3 is currently unknown, but Clifford does not believe he will return this series.
Along with Whiteside, Dwyane Wade lead all scorers and contributed 28 points on 11-22 shooting from the field. One highly anticipated storyline entering this series was the three point shooting of the Charlotte Hornets, a team ranked #4 in the NBA in this statistic. In the first two games, the Heat have held the Hornets to 7-33 (21%) shooting from behind the arc. While many viewed this as a good defensive effort from the Heat, Dwyane Wade isn’t in full agreement and wants the Heat to improve in this area next game.
“We got lucky they missed some”, Wade said in a post-game interview. “That team all year, especially the second half of the season, have been knocking down shots. We got to expect they’re gonna make half of those if not more when we get to Charlotte. We gotta be able to make adjustments, tonight we got lucky”.
Aside from Hassan and Wade, rookies Josh Richardson and Justise Winslow once again added a needed boost off the bench, combining for 24 points on 9-15 shooting. Josh Richardson’s reverse layup was amongst the top highlights of the night:
#Heat rookie Josh Richardson with the smooth up and under layup! #HeatNationhttps://t.co/wXR2yYVkfi
— NBA On Def Pen (@NBAOnDefPen) April 20, 2016
The Heat have taken a 2-0 commanding series lead after the win tonight at American Airlines Arena. Now, the Hornets get to host Game 3 this Saturday and Game 4 this Monday as they try to tie the series up 2-2. The Heat will be looking to finish off the series on the road and complete the first round sweep 4-0, in contrast.
Game 2 star player: Dwyane Wade, 28 points (11-22 shooting) and 8 assists.
