The Sports Xchange
Dec 1, 2017
MIAMI -- Josh Richardson scored a career-high 27 points to lead the Miami Heat to a 105-100 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Friday night.
Dion Waiters finished with 19 points and Wayne Ellington scored 14 points as the Heat overcame a 15-point first-quarter deficit.
Miami took the lead for good and secured the victory with nine unanswered points late in the fourth quarter. Goran Dragic's short jumper with 2:23 remaining in the period began the surge putting the Heat ahead 97-96.
Richardson's jumper with 46 seconds left capped the run and gave Miami (11-11) a 104-96 lead. Richardson shot 11-of-14 from the field, including 3-of-4 3-pointers.
Tyler Johnson and Kelly Olynyk were Miami's other double-figure scorers with 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Heat center Hassan Whiteside missed his second straight game and is expected to be sidelined indefinitely because of a bone bruise in his left knee that forced him to sit out five consecutive games earlier in the season.
Marvin Williams scored 16 points and Nicolas Batum finished with 13 for the Hornets (8-13), who lost their fourth straight.
The Hornets played their second consecutive game without leading scorer Kemba Walker, who is sidelined because of a bruised left shoulder.
The Hornets opened the game on a 16-1 run keyed by Dwight Howard's six points and five from Michael Carter-Williams. The Heat missed their first 12 shots before Richardson's lay-up with 5:45 remaining in the first quarter ended the scoring drought.
Ellington hit four 3-pointers during a 5:34 span late in the first period and early in the second quarter to help the Heat erase the early deficit. Richardson's steal and layup with 2:43 remaining in the second period gave Miami its first lead at 44:43.
NOTES: Rookie C Bam Adebayo replaced injured C Hassan Whiteside and scored one point and finished with five rebounds. Adebayo started the last three games of C Hassan Whiteside's five-game absence between Oct. 21 and Oct. 30 and averaged seven points and seven rebounds in the three-game stretch. G Goran Dragic scored seven points. Dragic has scored less than double figures in three consecutive games. ... After three of four games on the road, the Hornets return to the Spectrum Center to face Orlando Monday night for the first of four consecutive home games. The Hornets won three straight in their previous extended homestand. ... The Hornets are 1-11 on the road and have lost eight straight away from home. Charlotte's last road victory was at Memphis on Oct. 30.