Jimmy Butler posted 35 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists to lead the host Miami Heat to a 117-112 overtime win over the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday night.
Butler also made 13 of 15 free throws, including going 1-for-1 in an overtime period that saw the Heat for 9-for-9 from the line.
The Hornets, who have lost seven straight games, were led by Kelly Oubre’s season-high 29 points on 11-for-20 shooting, including 7-for-13 on 3-pointers. In his two previous games, he made just 2-for-18 on 3-pointers.
But Oubre was also called for traveling with 13 seconds left and Charlotte trailing by one point.
Miami’s Gabe Vincent then made two free throws for a 115-112 lead with 9.0 seconds left, and Butler forced Terry Rozier into a bad miss on a 3-pointer. Vincent made two more free throws with 3.8 seconds left to put the game away.
Charlotte also got 22 points from Rozier. Mason Plumlee led Charlotte with 15 rebounds, and he added 13 points. Dennis Smith Jr. had 12 points and eight assists before spraining his left ankle in overtime.
Miami also got 18 points and 14 rebounds from Bam Adebayo.
Charlotte remained without two injured starters: point guard LaMelo Ball (ankle) and forward Gordon Hayward (shoulder).
Shooting guard Tyler Herro, Miami’s second-leading scorer, missed his second straight game due to a left-ankle injury.
Miami led 32-27 after the first quarter and 58-50 at halftime. Oubre led all first-half scorers with 19 points. Duncan Robinson led Miami with 11 points off the bench.
In the third, Miami led by as many as 15 points before Charlotte went on a 16-5 run, cutting the Heat’s lead to 74-71. Miami, though, never gave up the lead and took an 85-73 advantage into the fourth. Butler had 13 points in that third period, making 9 of 11 free throws.
Charlotte opened the fourth on a 14-2 run to make it 87-87 then took a 90-89 lead on Plumlee’s three-point play. That was the Hornets’ first advantage since 3-0.
Butler scored three straight buckets in the final 2:24 of regulation, giving Miami a 104-102 lead with 36.4 seconds left.
But Smith made a layup with 26.5 seconds remaining to tie the score 104-104.
Butler was called for an offensive foul on Miami’s next possession as he pushed off on Rozier. The game went to overtime when Rozier missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
–Field Level Media