After building a quick 2-0 lead in their series against the Charlotte Hornets, the Miami Heat lost both games in the Queen City, bringing it back to South Beach tied at 2-2.
In their 89-85 defeat, the Heat were called for a total of 26 fouls, sending the Hornets to the free throw line 30 times.
Four of those fouls came against Miami's defensive heartbeat, Hassan Whiteside. In his first career playoff series, Whiteside looked forward to playing a physical brand of basketball, but so far, he hasn't been able to freely.
“I thought this was the playoffs, isn't this supposed to be physical basketball? I thought the playoffs were more physical,” Whiteside told reporters. “This is the flop-offs, man. … I don't even want to get on the calls. I got nothing to say. That's crazy.”
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Charlotte has clearly won the battle in terms of fouls and performance at the charity stripe. During this series, 95 fouls have been whistled against the Heat while 77 have gone against the Hornets, leading to 101-of-122 from the free throw line for Charlotte and just 67-of-94 for Miami.
Head coach Erik Spoelstra deflected the issue, claiming that the Hornets are earning the fouls that they're getting.
“We've probably fouled more in these four games than we have in the last four weeks, but you have to give them credit,” Spoelstra said. “They're aggressive.”
It will be interesting to see what happens as the series shifts back to Miami for Game 5 on Wednesday night.
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