Steve Clifford and the Charlotte Hornets fell to the Miami Heat for the second straight game in their two-game home-and-home series on Wednesday night, with the final score settling in at 115-104. The Heat are now 3-0 against the Hornets this year, so they clearly have gotten the better of the matchup to this point.
Charlotte didn't do themselves any favors in this loss, making costly mistakes as they tried to string together runs to get back into the ball game. More specifically, turnovers became the Hornets undoing in this one. They actually had less giveaways than Miami, as they had 22 compared to Charlotte's 21, but it was the timing of it all that derailed the game for the Hornets.
Hornets turnovers created easy transition buckets for the Heat
Clifford was visibly frustrated with his team's inability to take care of the ball in those timely moments throughout the game, but he gave Miami the credit that they deserved.
“They’re good at that, they create a lot of turnovers,” coach Clifford said. “I think we had eight in the first quarter and we were better in the second quarter until the end. It’s a big part of what they do.”
Miami might not have the most talented guys on the roster, but everyone knows they will go out and compete every time they take the floor, and that was the case even on a night where they were without star big man Bam Adebayo. It's not exactly like the Hornets were disorganized throughout this game, though. They were just a little lackadaisical with the basketball at times, which Clifford also noted.
“Turnovers are crushing. We're not getting shots, they do a good job of turning it the other way. We weren't disorganized at all. We had some carless turnovers, they're good at it, and they made us pay,” Clifford continued.
What comes next for Steve Clifford and the Hornets?
The Hornets need to find a way to pick up wins with LaMelo Ball on the sidelines with an ankle injury. Charlotte has a tough back-to-back at home against the Philadelphia 76ers and New Orleans Pelicans coming up, and these teams packed with All-Star talent could make getting back in the win column a big challenge for Charlotte. Fortunately, the Hornets tend to play up to their competition, and with Terry Rozier playing well as of late, the Hornets have the potential to pull off at least one upset during this stretch.
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