Whiteside Gets Triple-Double As Heat Hold Off Hornets 98-95
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CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Hassan Whiteside had 10 points, 10 rebounds and 10 blocked shots, and the Miami Heat came up with two key steals in the closing seconds of a 98-95 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Friday night.
Dwyane Wade scored 22 points and Chris Bosh added 20 points for the Heat, who have won six of seven. Goran Dragic had 12 points, nine assists and eight rebounds.
Marvin Williams scored 27 points for the Hornets, and Nicolas Batum added 21. Kemba Walker had 20 points.
The Hornets led 93-90 with 1:10 remaining, but Wade made a layup and Bosh added a three-point play to make it 95-93 with 23.5 seconds left.
Charlotte had a chance to tie it, but Justise Winslow's steal set up a free throw by Luol Deng for a 96-93 advantage with 13.2 seconds left.
Wade then stole the ball from Walker and passed to Deng for a fast-break dunk with 4.3 seconds remaining and the Heat's biggest lead of the game.
Before Miami's flurry at the very end, neither team was able to grab much of an advantage. There were 26 lead changes and 12 ties, including 47-47 at halftime.
Charlotte went up 24-16 on Michael Kidd-Gilchrist's three-point play with 4:10 left in the first quarter, and ended the period with a 31-25 lead.
The second quarter was tight, especially over the final 5 1/2 minutes, with eight lead changes and two ties. The Hornets were up 47-44 on Kidd-Gilchrist's layup with 25.3 seconds left, but Bosh converted a three-point play with 6.6 seconds to go.
TIP-INS
Heat: Winslow had eight points and 10 rebounds. ... Miami finished with 12 blocked shots. ... The Heat outscored the Hornets 64-32 in the paint, and also enjoyed an 18-6 edge in second-chance points thanks to eight offensive rebounds.
Hornets: Shot 44.4 percent from the field (36 of 81), and made 10 of 26 3-pointers. ... Also shot 13 of 15 from the free-throw line. ... Charlotte's reserves scored just 12 points, while Miami got 29 points from its backups.
UP NEXT
Heat: Host the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.
Hornets: Host the Wizards on Saturday night.
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