Hornets Hand Heat Third Straight Loss as Giannis Antetokounmpo Fouls Out

Brandon Miller scored 34 points to lead the Charlotte Hornets to a 115-110 victory over the Miami Heat, who fell to 0-3.

The Charlotte Hornets defeated the Miami Heat 115-110 on Saturday, handing head coach Erik Spoelstra his first 0-3 start in 19 seasons. Brandon Miller led all scorers with 34 points for Charlotte, while Dennis Schroder added 25 and Naz Reid contributed 23. Giannis Antetokounmpo, playing his first season for Miami, was held to 14 points before fouling out with less than two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.

Charlotte secured the win at the Spectrum Center before a sellout crowd of 19,611 despite missing starters Coby White and Kon Knueppel. The Hornets utilized a 24-7 run in the third quarter, fueled by five 3-pointers, to build a 92-70 lead with 2:55 left in the period. Overall, Charlotte improved their perimeter shooting to 16-of-43 after going 11-of-51 in their previous game.

Miami rallied to tie the game three times in the fourth quarter, the last at 104-104 with 3:46 remaining. Grayson Allen, who finished with 20 points, broke the tie with a four-point play involving an acrobatic 3-pointer from the left wing while being fouled by Tim Hardaway Jr. Davion Mitchell led the Heat with 22 points, followed by Bam Adebayo with 20 and Pelle Larsson with 15. Klay Thompson also recorded 14 points in the loss.