Five takeaways from the Heat’s highly entertaining 128-120 win at Charlotte on Friday:
▪ The Heat took control late, delivering one of its most impressive road wins of the year against the NBA’s hottest team.
Charlotte – coming off a blowout win in Boston – entered having won 16 of its past 19, including its previous six games by an average of 24 points.
But Miami seized control with an 11-2 run just under the six-minute mark. That stretch included a go-ahead three by Tyler Herro, a Herro alley-oop to Kel’el Ware for a dunk and a Bam Adebayo jumper, putting Miami ahead 115-108.
After Charlotte’s Grant Williams nailed a three, Herro responded with a three and then made a steal, leading to an Adebayo put-back that put Miami up nine.
After Kon Knueppel’s three drew Charlotte to within three, Herro nailed another three. A Dru Smith put back with 1:10 left put Miami up seven, before Knueppel swished another three.
But Knueppel (27 points) and LaMelo Ball (21) missed threes in the final 30 seconds, and Adebayo nailed two free throws with 18 seconds left, putting the Heat up six and essentially sealing Miami’s fourth win in a row.
“It was gratifying to see our guys respond in these pressure moments,” Erik Spoelstra said. “Our game has been trending in such a great way, both ends of the court. Our defense is becoming more consistent. There were so many guys that made an impact.”
Herro and Jaime Jaquez Jr. had exceptional nights, and Adebayo and Ware were very good in the second half, helping anchor a Heat zone that gave the Hornets trouble down the stretch.
Herro made his first six three-pointers and eight on the night (on 10 attempts), closing with 33 points, along with nine rebounds and nine assists. He fell just short of his second career triple double.
“He was sensational tonight,” Spoelstra said. “Tyler, you can see he’s gaining more rhythm each game. Tonight, the three ball started to go for him. It opens up so much for his game. He can put the ball on the floor. The nine rebounds were needed because they’re a handful on the glass.”
Jaquez, who entered shooting just 26.7 percent on threes, nailed four threes (equaling a career high) in six attempts and was excellent overall, contributing 21 points (on 8 for 13 shooting) and four assists.
“I work on my three every single day,” Jaquez said.
Adebayo shook off a poor start, delivering 12 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter, while adding 12 rebounds and four assists.
Davion Mitchell scored 10 of his 13 in the third quarter, while chipping in seven assists.
Dru Smith played key minutes down the stretch, and his pesky defense, including four steals, made an impact.
“He was so disruptive in our zone,” Spoelstra said. “He had deflections, was getting them out of rhythm.”
Miami, which was down by three after three quarters, won for only the second time in 24 games that it trailed heading into the fourth. Miami outscored Charlotte 30-19 in the fourth and shot 47 percent on threes (18 for 38).
“It felt like a playoff game,” Herro said. “Big win for us.”
▪ Injuries to several veterans left the Heat with just 11 players available and resulted in Myron Gardner’s fifth NBA start.
Andrew Wiggins missed the game with knee tendinitis that has flared up in recent days, leaving Miami without two starters.
“He’s dealt with it for the last handful of days, and it didn’t loosen up enough today to be available,” Spoelstra said before the game. “But hopefully we can treat him and hopefully make sure it’s a short-term thing.”
Meanwhile, Norman Powell – who is listed as week to week with a groin injury – missed his fourth game in a row. Powell hasn’t spoken with reporters since sustaining the injury.
Nikola Jovic missed his seventh game in a row with a back injury and Simone Fontecchio was sidelined for a second consecutive game with a strained groin.
With Terry Rozier obviously unavailable – and Keshad Johnson and Jahmir Young remaining with the Heat’s G-League team – Miami used nine of its 11 available players.
Only Trevor Keels and Vlad Goldin were available and did not play.
Gardner provided his usual energy, producing six points, five rebounds and two assists in 16 minutes. He entered having averaged 11 points and 8.5 rebounds in four previous starts.
▪ Adebayo shook off a 1 for 8 start, and Ware was again effective anchoring Miami’s zone.
Adebayo heated up as the game went along; his 12 fourth quarter points were vital, and his rebounding helped offset Moussa Diabete’s 14 boards.
Ware played 30 minutes – and delivered 10 points, four blocks and four rebounds – one night after he produced an historic stat line of 16 points, 11 rebounds, five steals and seven blocks. Before Thursday, no NBA player had ever reached those thresholds off the bench.
Ware, 21, also became the first player in Heat history to record at least 10 points, 10 rebounds, five steals and five blocks in a game and the 22nd player in NBA history to do it.
Since Feb. 8, Heat lineups with Adebayo and Ware have outscored teams by 107 points, fifth best among all NBA two-man combos during that time entering Friday– behind only three different Spurs with Victor Wembanyama; and Boston’s Derrick White and Sam Hauser.
The Adebayo/Ware pairing was a minus 10 in the first half on Friday but was on the floor together during the decisive 11-2 run in the fourth and for much of the quarter.
“Kel’el had a terrific fourth quarter,” Spoelstra said. “It was probably his best response in an important game all year. [Early on in the game], his pick and roll coverages weren’t great. Last eight minutes of the fourth quarter, he came to life, closed out in our zone… I was really pleased to see him respond and have that mental toughness. That’s growth.”
▪ Draft pedigree ultimately made no difference Friday.
Charlotte has missed the playoffs nine consecutive seasons, which is the longest ongoing streak in the league. And all of that losing has left the Hornets with three top five overall picks – Brandon Miller (the second overall pick in 2023), Ball (the third overall pick in 2020) and Knueppel, the fourth overall pick in 2025. And Coby White, acquired from the Bulls last month, is a former seventh overall pick.
With former top overall pick Wiggins sidelined, the Heat’s active roster on Friday featured no players drafted higher than 13th (Herro) and 14th (Adebayo).
All of the Hornets’ home-grown high lottery picks were sharp early. Miller scored 19 of his 22 in the first half.
Ball drained five threes. Knueppel, who already has set an NBA record for threes by a rookie, finished 6 for 9 on threes. But Miami’s late lottery picks – Herro and Adebayo – made the decisive plays late.
“Our cornerstones, Bam and Tyler, brought us home,” Spoelstra said.
▪ The Heat (35-29) moved past Orlando and into seventh in the East. No. 6 Philadelphia is also six games over .500, at 34-28, percentage points ahead of Miami.
What’s more, the Heat moved to within one game of No. 5 Toronto and extended its lead over No. 9 Atlanta to 2 1/2 games, while pushing its lead over No. 10 Charlotte to three games.
There’s a real opportunity to move to fifth, considering that the 76ers will be without All Star center Joel Embiid for at least another week, and considering that Toronto has cooled off, losing seven of its past 10 home games.
Miami, which won two early-season meetings against Charlotte by 27 and 16, clinched the season series and the tiebreaker with the Hornets. The teams meet a final time on March 17 in Charlotte.
The Heat returns home to play No. 1 seed Detroit at 6 p.m. Sunday.
This story was originally published March 6, 2026 at 9:32 PM.
Barry Jackson
Miami Herald
Barry Jackson has written for the Miami Herald since 1986 and has written the Florida Sports Buzz column since 2002.
