LaMelo Ball made a layup with 4.7 seconds left in overtime,Miles Bridges blocked Davion Mitchell’s attemptat a winning layup at the buzzer, and the Charlotte Hornets beat Miami 127-126 in a wild start to the NBA’s play-in games, eliminating the Heat from the playoffs on Tuesday night.ALSO READ: Hornets to host Heat in postseason play-in gameBall finished with 30 points and 10 assists and Bridges had 28 points and nine rebounds as the Hornets won their first postseason home game in a decade. Coby White had 19 points, includinga turnaround 3with 10.8 second left in regulation to send the game to OT.Coby White to tie the game.

Ten seconds left, folks…. #Hornets | @wsoctvpic.twitter.com/4B19QliaHq— DaShawn Brown (@DaShawnWSOC9) April 15, 2026Mitchell scored 28 points and Andrew Wiggins added 27 for the Heat, who lost Bam Adebayo to a lower back injury when Ball tripped him in the second quarter.The Hornets will travel to face the loser of Wednesday’s matchup between Philadelphia and Orlando on Friday night for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Charlotte is seeking its first playoff appearance in a decade.Ball’s driving layup put the Hornets up by five with 26 seconds left in OT. But he made two critical mistakes after that.Tyler Herro, who scored 23 points for Miami, hit a twisting, corner 3, and Ball then turned the ball over in the backcourt and fouled Herro on a 3-point shot.

Herro made all three free throws to give Miami a 126-125 lead with 8.7 seconds left.After a timeout, Ball drove the right side of the lane and made a leaning, right-handed layup to give Charlotte the lead. Miami, without any timeouts, pushed the ball up the court and Bridges chased down Mitchell to block his layup attempt, setting off a frenzied celebration.Ball flexed at midcourt as players mobbed each other.Despite the loss of Adebayo, the Heat remained in control until late in the third quarter, when White banked in a 3-pointer and then added another 3 at the top of the key as part of a 10-0 Charlotte run.White, acquired in a midseason trade with Chicago, drained another 3 in the closing seconds of the third quarter to give Charlotte a 89-83 lead.The Heat then built a 102-95 lead in the fourth quarter behind two 3s from Wiggins.The Hornets tied it when White caught an inbounds pass and made a unbalanced 3 from the corner.

Herro had a chance to win it in regulation but hit the back iron on a 3-point try.Previous coverageThe Hornets held a pep rally earlier on Tuesday to get fans ready for something they haven’t experienced in a decade— postseason basketball.The game is a win-or-go-home opportunity to keep the season alive.The Hornets have scratched and clawed their way back from a slow start to be in the Play-In Tournament. In the last three weeks, they’ve played the top three teams in the East a total of five times, and those were games they needed to win to keep pace with the rest of the play-in field.When the dust settled, the Hornets finished as the No. 9 seed and must win their next two games, with the latter on the road, to advance to the postseason for the first time since the 2015-2016 season.The team is battle-tested, and head coach Charles Lee said the Hornets are ready.“I love that we got to play some playoff-caliber games and some playoff-caliber environments, and I think it helps our young team,” said coach Lee.

“Also, some of them being so young, they know what it’s like to play in that NCAA Tournament, and you’ve got that win-or-go-home mindset.”Making the playoffs would mean everything for Hornets forward Miles Bridges, the longest-tenured player on the roster.“It’s No. 1 on my list to make it to the playoffs and play for something,” Bridges said. “I probably have the most games as a player to not make the playoffs. I definitely want to get off that list.

And I feel like everybody on this team deserves to be in the playoffs. We worked so hard, and we sacrificed. I feel like we deserve to be there.”VIDEO: Hornets’ Miles Bridges talks about importance of game against HeatBOTTOM LINE: The Hornets host the Heat in the NBA Playoffs Play-In Tournament.

The winner moves on in the tournament to play for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs.The Hornets are 26-26 in Eastern Conference games. Charlotte ranks fifth in the league with 12.8 offensive rebounds per game led by Moussa Diabate averaging 3.7 offensive boards.The Heat are 10-7 against opponents in the Southeast Division. Miami is 21-31 against opponents over .500.The Hornets are shooting 46.0% from the field this season, 0.5 percentage points lower than the 46.5% the Heat allow to opponents.

The Heat average 13.7 made 3-pointers per game this season, 0.9 more makes per game than the Hornets give up.TOP PERFORMERS: Kon Knueppel is averaging 18.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists for the Hornets. LaMelo Ball is averaging 22.5 points over the last 10 games.Bam Adebayo is averaging 20.1 points, 10 rebounds and 3.2 assists for the He