As Charlotte’s sharpshooting duo of LaMelo Ball and Kon Knueppel went cold, Coby White did not.
The trade-deadline acquisition for the Hornets forced overtime with clutch 3-point shooting to spark a 127-126 overtime win over the Miami Heat Tuesday night. Then Ball redeemed himself from a poor shooting night and a late mistake to seal the win in overtime with a go-ahead layup in the final seconds.
With the win, Charlotte advances to the second round of the NBA play-in with a berth in the playoffs at stake. Miami’s season is over.
With the game on the line and a 3-point deficit in final seconds of regulation, Charlotte benched Knueppel, who led the NBA in made 3s this season. Charlotte instead set up a play for White, who’d entered the fourth quarter shooting 4 of 5 from 3.