By Sam Perley, hornets.com
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Result Another impressive all-around performance by the hometown Hornets led to a second-consecutive blowout win as they dominated the visiting Miami Heat, 99-81, on Wednesday, Dec. 9 in Charlotte for their third-consecutive victory. The Hornets, who allowed a season-low 36 first-half points to Miami, had another fantastic showing from Nicolas Batum, who finished with Charlotte’s first triple-double since Kemba Walker recorded one on Apr. 4, 2014 against the Orlando Magic. Walker and Marvin Williams each tallied a team-high 18 points while Tyler Johnson led Miami in scoring with a season-high 20 points off the bench.
Turning Points The Hornets put together a stellar first-half performance against the Heat, outscoring Miami by 10 points in each of the first two quarters to take 20-point lead into the break.The Hornets connected on 23-of-45 field-goal attempts in the first half (51.1 percent), including 7-of-17 from long range (41.2 percent) while Miami was successful on only 14-of-39 attempts from the field (35.9 percent), including just 2-of-9 from behind the arc (22.2 percent). Charlotte also turned the ball over just twice in the first half, resulting in zero Miami points. Things didn’t get much better for Miami in the second half as the Hornets kept the momentum going, cruising to their 10th home win of the season.
Inside the Box Score Marvin Williams finished with a season-high 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field (4-of-6 from three-point range)… Kemba Walker also tallied a team-high-tying 18 points along with five rebounds, four assists and a season-high five steals… Nicolas Batum tacked on 10 points, a team-high 11 rebounds and a game-high and season-high-tying 11 assists for the fifth triple-double of his career… Jeremy Lamb also scored in double figures, finishing with 10 points and four rebounds off the bench… Frank Kaminsky chipped in five points and career highs in both rebounds (seven) and assists (six)… Tyler Johnson led the Heat with a season-high 20 points off the bench… Dwyane Wade and Gerald Green were the only other Miami players to score in double figures, each finishing with 11 points. Wade also dished out a team-high four assists… Hassan Whiteside tallied six points, a team-high-tying eight rebounds and a game-high three blocks… Justice Winslow finished with seven points and a team-high-tying eight rebounds… The Hornets drained 11-of-27 attempts from three-point range (40.7 percent). This was the 10th time this season that Charlotte has made 10-or-more three-point field goals in a single game, a feat they accomplished just nine times total last year… The 81 points scored for Miami was the fewest allowed in a game this season for the Hornets.
Hornets Player of the Game Nicolas Batum had another spectacular outing for the Hornets, tallying his first triple-double of the season with 10 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in the Charlotte win. This was the fifth triple-double of Batum’s career and first since doing so against Orlando on Jan. 8, 2014 as a member of the Portland Trail Blazers.
Heat Player of the Game Tyler Johnson had a solid night for the Heat, finishing with a season-high 20 points on 6-of-12 shooting along with two rebounds and two assists in the Miami loss. The second-year guard out of Fresno State has only scored 20-or-more points two other times his entire NBA career.
Game Notes Batum’s triple-double was the 23rd ever in Charlotte franchise history… Marvin Williams went to the locker room in the first quarter but did return (nose)… Charlotte drained its 200th three-pointer of the season in the third quarter, which is the fastest the team has ever reached this threshold in franchise history (26 games; 1995-96 NBA season)… The last seven regular season games between Charlotte and Miami have all been won by the home team.
Next Up The Hornets will hit the road to take on the Grizzlies at 8 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 11 in Memphis. The game can be seen on FOX Sports Southeast or heard on WFNZ or on the official Charlotte Hornets mobile app.
Cody Zeller Postgame Twinterview Following the win against the Miami Heat, the Hornets Cody Zeller sat down to answer your Twitter questions for a post game “Twinterview”
