By Sam Perley, hornets.com
The Hornets inched closer to the start of the 2016-17 NBA campaign as they wrapped up their home preseason schedule by playing host to the Miami Heat for the first time since the two teams squared off in a tightly-contested playoff series this past April. It would be Charlotte who finished on the winning side tonight though as it held off a young, resilient Heat team to pull a 96-88 victory at Time Warner Cable Arena on Thursday night for its third consecutive preseason victory.
Charlotte came out of the gates firing, connecting on 13-of-26 field-goal attempts to take a 33-19 lead over the Heat by the end of the first quarter. Miami would rally to cut the deficit down to 11 points by halftime and then to two points by the end of the third quarter. Things remained neck-and-neck until the final few minutes of the fourth when an 11-3 run helped put the Hornets up by nine points with 1:32 remaining in the game. Miami managed just one made free throw the rest of the way as Charlotte sealed the victory and evened its preseason record at 3-3.
Kemba Walker led the way for the Hornets with a team-high 17 points to go along with four rebounds, six assists and three steals. Nicolas Batum also filled up the box score, emerging with 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting, five rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal.
With Marvin Williams sidelined (finger), Frank Kaminsky found himself in Charlotte’s starting lineup and impressed again with 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting and six rebounds. Kaminsky’s post game was notably on display against Miami as the second-year power forward was able to drive and finish around the rim a handful of times tonight as well.
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (14 rebounds) and Roy Hibbert (11 rebounds) were all over the glass tonight for the Hornets, each finishing with a preseason high in boards. Kidd-Gilchrist also added 10 points for his first double-double of the preseason while Hibbert chipped in eight points, three assists and a team-high three blocks as well.
Charlotte edged out Miami on the boards, 49-48, and also had one fewer turnover than the Heat (17-16). The Hornets drained 20-of-24 attempts from the free-throw line (83.3 percent) while also knocking down 8-of-24 attempts from behind the arc (33.3 percent).
The Hornets will finish off their preseason schedule with another matchup against the Timberwolves at 8 p.m. tomorrow night in Minnesota. Watch the game on NBA TV or listen to Steve Martin’s call on the Hornets app or WFNZ.
