Walker scores 39 as Hornets beat Heat

Kemba Walker scored 39 points and hit a free throw with 0.5 seconds remaining to give the Charlotte Hornets a bizarre 113-112 win over the host Miami Heat on Saturday night.

Kemba Walker scored 39 points and hit a free throw with 0.5 seconds remaining to give the Charlotte Hornets a bizarre 113-112 win over the host Miami Heat on Saturday night.

Walker was fouled as the Hornets played for the final shot with the score tied 112-112. He made the first free throw, then intentionally missed the second to allow the clock to expire.

Walker scored 22 of his points in the first half, as the Hornets rolled to a 72-52 halftime lead, and then he surpassed the career 10,000-point plateau early in the third quarter. He had opened the season with 41 points against Milwaukee on Wednesday night and scored 26 despite not playing the fourth quarter in a blowout win at Orlando on Friday.

The Hornets were able to snap a six-game losing streak against the Heat dating to two seasons ago.

The Hornets also got 15 points from Malik Monk, 13 from Marvin Williams, 12 from Jeremy Lamb and 11 from Cody Zeller.

The Heat played without four regulars -- Dion Waiters (knee), James Johnson (hernia), Justise Winslow (hamstring) and Wayne Ellington (ankle).

Dwyane Wade led the Heat with 21 points. Goran Dragic scored 20, Rodney McGruder 19 and Derrick Jones Jr. and Bam Adebayo had 12 each.

McGruder added 10 rebounds, and Hassan Whiteside also had a double-double with 11 points and 15 rebounds.

The Hornets led by as many as 26 in the third quarter, but the Heat chipped away at the lead and got within 92-82 entering the fourth.

Miami never got the lead, but Wade tied the game at 112-112 by following up his own miss on a 3-pointer with a layup with 12.3 seconds remaining.

The Hornets were playing the second game of a four-game road trip. They will play at Toronto on Monday night.

The Heat will be off until Wednesday night when they will host New York.

 

(With inputs from agencies.)