The Heat\u2013Hornets overtime thriller on Tuesday was marred by what Miami coach Erik Spoelstra called a \u201cstupid play.\u201d<\/p>\n
Charlotte pulled out a 127-126 play-in tournament victory with LaMelo Ball<\/a> scoring the game-winning layup. Ball was also involved in a controversial play in the first half. Simone Fontecchio<\/a> blocked his shot and Ball tumbled to the ground. The ball landed in Bam Adebayo<\/a>\u2018s hands and Ball, as ESPN\u2019s Ohm Youngmisuk<\/a> describes, grabbed at the Heat center\u2019s legs.<\/p>\n Adebayo fell hard to the floor and eventually limped back to the locker room. He was ruled out during the second half due to a lower back injury.<\/p>\n Spoelstra felt Ball should have been ejected. Instead, the Hornets guard finished with 30 points and 10 assists.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s cute. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s funny. I think it\u2019s a stupid play,\u201d Spoelstra said, per Michael Scotto of Hoops Hype (Twitter link<\/a>). \u201cIt\u2019s a dangerous play. Obviously, our best player was out. I\u2019m not making an excuse. The Hornets played great and made those plays down the stretch. We had our opportunities to win. That\u2019s a shame. He should be penalized for that. I don\u2019t think that belongs in the game, tripping guys, shenanigans. Somebody has got to see that. He should have been thrown out of the game for that. There\u2019s no place in the game for that.\u201d<\/p>\n