“Big Al” Jefferson dropped a season-high 28 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as the Charlotte Hornets beat the Miami Heat 96-89. This victory for Buzz City snaps a 16-game, regular-season losing streak versus Miami. Charlotte was winless against the Heat in the time that LeBron James was in Miami which also including getting swept in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs by Miami last season.
Chris Bosh had 23 points and 13 rebounds for Miami. It was Bosh’s fifth straight 20-point game to start the season. Dwyane Wade added 25 points for Miami, which has lost back-to-back games after starting the season 3-0. The Heat were just defeated by the Houston Rockets last night. And those were the only 2 players for the Heat that did any type of major contributions for the team.
Jefferson has put up double digit scoring in 30 straight regular-season games dating back to last year. He has scored at least 20 points in 23 of those of 30 games. Kemba Walker contributed 16 points with 7 assists. The one-time college sensation,Cody Zeller, contributed a significant 13 points and 8 rebounds off the bench for the Hornets, who won for the first time since their season opener and are now 2-3. The biggest free agency acquisition for the Hornets,Lance Stephenson, continued to struggle from the field to start the season. He shot just 3 of 12 for the game and he’s shooting just 27% through 5 games.
The Hornets trailed late in the third, 57-56, and then Kemba Walker put them ahead for good with a pair of free throws. Then, rookie P.J. Hairston, who played a bunch of minutes for the injured Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, knocked down a 3-pointer from the left wing to continue the Hornets 21-7 run
Miami would get within four, but two turnovers and a missed jumper by Mario Chalmers in the final minute ended any and all opportunity of a comeback for the Heat.
Full Game Highlights
https://youtu.be/fjkroM-SCWY
