Hornets rally past Heat, 122-117

Charlotte Hornets forward P.J. Washington, left, passes around Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler (22) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
Charlotte Hornets forward P.J. Washington, left, passes around Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler (22) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Terry Rozier scored 31 points, P.J. Washington had 27 and the Charlotte Hornets stopped Miami's three-game win streak with a 122-117 victory over the Heat on Sunday.

LaMelo Ball scored 13 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter as Charlotte improved to 7-16 at home. Gordon Hayward was a perfect 7 of 7 from the field for 20 points.

Rozier also had seven assists and six rebounds. He was 11 for 19 from the field, including a 5-for-11 performance from 3-point range. He made two buzzer-beater 3s at the end of quarters.

Jimmy Butler scored 28 points for Miami, and Tyler Herro had 24.

The Hornets, who have been hampered by injuries all season, have won four of six for the team's best stretch of the season. Washington believes it's a reflection of the team getting healthier.

Charlotte's projected starting five to begin the season is finally back on the floor and appears to be starting to mesh.

"Everybody is back and everybody is healthy -- and that is a major difference," Washington said. "At the end of the day we have to keep going the way we are right now."

Hayward has struggled with shoulder and hamstring issues, limiting the team's highest-paid player to just 24 games.

Sunday marked his best game in months.

"He's playing confident and getting easy baskets and just bullying guys down low," Washington said. "He's playing great basketball and I expect that of him every night."

Whether a now healthy Hornets team can make a playoff push remains to be seen, but coach Steve Clifford remains optimistic.

"Getting 'Melo and Gordon back, obviously you're a different team," Clifford said. "If we can get into playing set groups then we'll have a good chance to hopefully put some good stretches together. (It helps) when they know who they're playing with and they know where the shots are coming from."

The Heat led 62-58 after Rozier banked in a 3 from the midcourt logo to close out the first half.

Miami went on a 10-1 run to start the third quarter. Herro knocked down two 3-pointers to help the Heat open a 13-point lead.

But Charlotte came storming back behind Washington and Rozier, who began knocking down shots from deep.

Charlotte pushed the lead to 12 with 5:54 left on a turnaround jumper by Rozier.

Miami rallied with a 10-0 run. Kyle Lowry found Bam Adebayo inside for a layup to cut the lead to 108-106.

But Charlotte had another burst as Mason Plumlee got the ball after Rozier won a jump ball and drove to the basket for a score. Ball canned an open 3-pointer to put Charlotte back up 114-106 with 1:50 left.

Washington's rebound and score off his own miss kept Charlotte up by seven and Plumlee dunked off a pass from Washington to put the game away in the final minute.

Charlotte shot 54.2% from the field and scored 25 points in transition. The Hornets also outrebounded Miami 47-36.

"They have had a lot of injuries but when they have been fully healthy, this team can score much different than their numbers may suggest for the season," Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. "We did not step up defensively, they got a lot of easy run-ups that quickly changed the momentum of the game."

TIP-INS

Heat: Adebayo scored 17 points, but he only had four rebounds.

Hornets: Plumlee entered the game shooting 76.5% from the field over his last 20 games, the highest percentage by any player in any 20-game span since the ABA-NBA merger in 1976-77, per Stathead. ... Charlotte's career leading scorer Kemba Walker attended the game.

UP NEXT

Heat: Continue a four-game road trip Tuesday at Cleveland.

Hornets: Play five of their next six games on the road beginning Tuesday at Milwaukee.

Grizzlies 112, Pacers 100

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Ja Morant had 27 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds, Jaren Jackson Jr. added 28 points and the Memphis Grizzlies overcame a lackluster first half to defeat the Indiana Pacers 112-100 on Sunday.

Brandon Clarke had 13 points, hitting all five of his shots as Memphis snapped a five-game losing streak and ran its home record to 21-3. It was Morant's fifth triple-double of the season and second in a row.

Benedict Mathurin, the sixth pick in the 2022 draft, led the Pacers with 27 points and eight rebounds. Aaron Nesmith had 16 points and Myles Turner added 15 points.

The Pacers dominated the first half, leading by as many as 19. First-half shooting, which hovered at 60% at the midway point of the second quarter, helped Indiana to a 62-50 lead at the break.

But 14 straight points brought Memphis back into the game early in the third quarter, and the Grizzlies outscored Indiana 30-17 in the third to retake the lead.

Memphis' 13-2 run to open the fourth opened the game up.

Both teams entered the game reeling from losing skids. Memphis was returning home after a winless five-game trip West, while the Pacers had lost nine of their last 10.

TIP-INS

Pacers: Guard Tyrese Haliburton continued to sit out with left knee and elbow sprains, but there were indications Indiana's top scorer could return to action soon. Coach Rick Carlisle expects Haliburton to practice this week "and looking toward the real possibility that he could play this weekend."

Grizzlies: Have won eight straight at home; their last home loss was Dec. 27 to Phoenix. ... Guard Desmond Bane sat out with right knee soreness. Coach Taylor Jenkins classified Bane as day-to-day and expects him to return this week.

TURNER EXTENSION

Turner will stay with Indiana after agreeing to a two-year contract extension. Carlisle said the team has a Monday news conference planned.

MOMENT OF SILENCE

Sunday was the Grizzlies' first home game since the video was released of Memphis police officers beating Tyre Nichols to death after a traffic stop. The Grizzlies held a pregame moment of silence for Nichols, 29, who died three days after the confrontation with police. Five officers were fired and indicted on an array of charges, including second-degree murder.

"Obviously, our city is going through a really tough time right now, I'm kind of focused on that more than basketball," Jenkins said, adding that the video was "very disturbing."

UP NEXT

Pacers: Host the Lakers on Tuesday.

Grizzlies: Host Portland on Wednesday.

Cavs 122, Clippers 99

CLEVELAND -- Cedi Osman tied his career high with 29 points while making all seven of his shots from behind the arc and the Cleveland Cavaliers built a 40-point lead on their way to a 122-99 rout of the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday night.

All-Star starter Donovan Mitchell had 11 points in his return for Cleveland after missing three games with a strained groin. The Cavaliers never trailed adn took their largest lead of the season at 82-42 on Jarrett Allen's first 3-pointer since Nov. 5, 2021.

The Clippers had won five in a row. They opted not to dress forward Kawhi Leonard and guards Paul George and Reggie Jackson, all of whom played Saturday in a victory in Atlanta. Officially, George and Leonard were reported as being out because of right knee trouble and Jackson has a sore right Achilles.

Turkey national team member Osman made 11 of 13 shots on Turkish Heritage Night at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. The Cavaliers have the best home record in the East at 21-5.

Darius Garland had 16 points and 10 assists for Cleveland.

Brandon Boston Jr. scored 24 points and Moses Brown had 13 points and 16 rebounds for Los Angeles. Rookie Jason Preston from Ohio University had season highs of 12 points and eight rebounds.

The performance was in stark contrast to Cleveland's 120-114 home loss to Golden State nine days earlier, when the Warriors sat Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins.

Allen had 15 points and eight rebounds, and Evan Mobley added nine points and nine boards. The Cavaliers had lost four of their previous six, but remained fifth in the East.

Los Angeles is 1-1 on a six-game road trip that ends Feb. 6 in Brooklyn. The Clippers missed 16 of their first 17 3-pointers and finished 2 of 19 beyond the arc.

The Cavaliers' largest victory margin in the series was 111-79, set on Jan. 19, 1971, against the then-Buffalo Braves.

WELCOME BACK

Clippers coach Tyronn Lue took the Cavaliers to three straight NBA Finals appearances, winning their lone championship in 2016. F Kevin Love and Osman are the only remaining Cleveland players who played for Lue.

"When you lose LeBron (James) and Kyrie (Irving), usually it's going to take a long time to get back," said Lue, who went 128-83 in four seasons with the Cavaliers. "To be where they are now, they've done a great job putting together this team.

"It started with the trade for Jarrett Allen, which was out of this world, and getting Donovan Mitchell this year took them to the next level."

TIP-INS

Clippers: G Terance Mann had the only assist by a Los Angeles starter in the first half. ... F Marcus Morris (bruised rib) missed his third consecutive game and F Robert Covington (personal reasons) sat out his second in a row. G John Wall (abdominal soreness) has not played since Jan. 13 against Denver. ... Two-way C Moses Brown came off the bench after spending the previous six games with Ontario in the G League.

Cavaliers: Love (low back spasms) was inactive for the third straight game. He has missed six total contests with the injury since the start of December. ... G Dylan Windler (right ankle sprain) has yet to play this season. ... Cleveland must win its next game to finish a winning record for the fourth consecutive month. It hasn't started the season with four straight winning months since 2015-2016.

UP NEXT

Clippers: Visit Chicago on Tuesday night.

Cavaliers: Host Miami on Tuesday night.

photo Charlotte Hornets center Mark Williams (5) and Miami Heat guard Victor Oladipo (4) battle for a rebound during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
photo Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler (22) drives into Charlotte Hornets guard Terry Rozier (3) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
photo Miami Heat guard Gabe Vincent (2) keeps the ball from Charlotte Hornets guard Dennis Smith Jr. (8) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
photo Charlotte Hornets forward P.J. Washington (25) pulls down an offensive rebound against the Miami Heat during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
photo Charlotte Hornets forward P.J. Washington (25) dunks as Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) looks on during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
photo Charlotte Hornets guard Terry Rozier (3) drives to the basket against the Miami Heat during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)

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