LaMelo Ball was hero and villain as the Charlotte Hornets lifted their curse to send the Miami Heat tumbling out of the NBA play-in tournament with a thrilling 127-126 overtime victory on Tuesday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Charlotte had never won a win-or-go-home postseason game in 12 previous attempts and looked in danger of extending that record after blowing a 125-120 lead with 26 seconds remaining to allow Miami to edge ahead 126-125.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
After Miami star Tyler Herro had sunk a superb corner three-pointer to make it 125-123, Ball carelessly turned over possession and then gave away three free-throws with a rash lunge on Herro.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Herro drained all three shots to give Miami the lead with just nine seconds left.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Ball though made amends with a determined driving layup to make it 127-126 before an athletic block from Miles Bridges snuffed out Miami's last-gasp attempt to win it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"We stuck with it and ground it out," Ball said. "We wasn't hitting our threes, all the shots weren't hitting, but we stuck with it."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Ball was at the centre of controversy over an incident in the second quarter which led to Miami star Bam Adebayo hobbling out of the game.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
After being blocked during a drive to the basket, Ball reached out and tripped Adebayo with a tug on his standing leg, sending the Miami star crashing to the hardwood. He played no further part in the game.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Miami coach Erik Spoelstra was furious that Ball escaped an ejection.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"The referees are there for what? How did they not see that? I don't want this to be an excuse, Charlotte was incredible at the end," Spoelstra fumed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"I don't think that's cute. I don't think it's funny. I think it's a stupid play. It's a dangerous play. Our best player is out.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"(LaMelo) should be penalized for that. I don't think that belongs in the game, tripping guys, shenanigans. Someone has got to see that. And he should have been thrown out of the game for that."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The victory means Charlotte, beaten in their two previous appearances in the play-in tournament in 2021 and 2022, remain alive in the postseason while Miami are eliminated.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Charlotte will face the loser of Wednesday's Eastern Conference play-in game between the eighth-seeded Orlando Magic and seventh-seeded Philadelphia 76ers.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The reward for the winner of that game on Friday is a first-round playoff series against top seeds Detroit.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Ball finished with 30 points, 10 assists and five rebounds, while Bridges added 28 points and nine rebounds. Coby White had a crucial 19-point contribution from the bench, making five-of-eight three-pointers.<\/p>\r\n\r\n