The Miami Heat will try to bounce back from a tough loss when they face the Charlotte Hornets in North Carolina on Wednesday night.
On Tuesday, the Heat lost 106-103 at home to the Milwaukee Bucks. The defeat stopped Miami from winning three games in a row for the first time this season and almost ended their chances of advancing in the NBA Cup.
“It’s disappointing,” said Miami coach Erik Spoelstra. “We’ve had two ridiculously close games. We wanted to be there in Vegas (for the NBA Cup semifinals), but that’s behind us now, and we’ll focus on getting ready for Charlotte.”
Miami players Tyler Herro and Terry Rozier both had chances to win or tie the game against Milwaukee in the final moments.
“I saw open looks. I saw in and out,” Spoelstra said. “Terry’s was like a 27-foot shot so that’s different, but it’s open. That’s all you can (ask for).”
Miami’s total points in Tuesday’s game were the third lowest of the season.
Jimmy Butler led the Heat with 23 points, with 11 of those coming from free throws. The Heat lost despite the fact that Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo was out with a knee injury.
Meanwhile, the Hornets are frustrated after losing four of their last five games. LaMelo Ball scored 50 and 44 points in their last two games, but Charlotte lost both of them.
Ball scored more than half of the Hornets’ points in a 95-84 home loss to the Orlando Magic on Monday.
“Defensively, the guys did a really good job of executing the game plan,” said Charlotte coach Charles Lee. “To give up 95 points and we were fouling toward the end of the game, I think just shows the effort and the competitiveness and togetherness.”
However, the Hornets hurt themselves by committing 27 turnovers.
“We got ourselves in trouble with some of our turnovers,” Lee said. “I thought most of it is self-inflicted again. Things that we can control. I would love to just see us fix some of our transition turnovers that we have right now.”
The Hornets have struggled with offense lately, making adjustments because of injuries to their post players. As a result, they have relied more on Ball and Brandon Miller to score, which could help them in the future.
“I see two guys who are very talented, work extremely hard, care very much about the game, their teammates and the process they have to go through every day to continue to get better,” Lee said.
Terry Rozier, who used to play for the Hornets, will return to Charlotte with the Heat. He scored 17 points off the bench against Milwaukee on Tuesday.
“He’s a competitor and X-factor player,” Spoelstra said. “He’s in this role for us now.”
This will be Miami’s second trip to Charlotte this season. The Heat won 114-106 on October 26, with Butler scoring 26 points and adding eight assists. Ball scored 27 points for the Hornets, but Miller did not play due to a hip injury. Charlotte committed 20 turnovers in that game.
