Hornets Beat Heat, NBA Roundup

By ESPN

Nicolas Batum isn't sure what has been happening in third quarters lately for his Charlotte Hornets, though he'd like to bottle it up for whenever it's needed.

"We're just really good," Batum said. "If we could start the game the same way we start the third quarter, we'd be a really, really good team."

Thanks to another dominating third quarter Thursday night, Charlotte beat the Miami Heat 91-82.

Batum had 16 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists, and sparked the Hornets with nine points, five rebounds and four assists in the third period, when they outscored Miami 31-17.

Kemba Walker led Charlotte with 22 points on 8-for-20 shooting. The Hornets improved to 19-14, and have won five of their last six games.

Josh Richardson led Miami with 20 points on 8-for-14 shooting. The Heat fell to 10-23.

The Hornets' third-quarter dominance has become habit. One night earlier, they outscored the Orlando Magic 35-13 in the period to grab a lead they held onto until the end.

Charlotte began the third with an 8-0 run and never relented. Though they shot 38.7 percent overall, the Hornets connected on 13-of-23 attempts (56.5 percent) in the third.

"I have no idea (why)," Hornets coach Steve Clifford said of his team's third-quarter performances.

Clifford is more concerned with Charlotte's fourth-quarter defense. Limiting the Heat to 16 fourth-quarter points was a major victory in Clifford's eyes.

"It's been a problem, and tonight it was much better," he said.

Miami, meanwhile, is struggling to find its footing overall and used its 12th different starting lineup of the season. The Heat had 17 turnovers, which led to 21 points for the Hornets.

"We just weren't coherent, didn't get organized and made some sloppy turnovers and we paid the price for it," Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said.

Richardson seemed to have a breakthrough when he had 13 points in the second quarter on 5-for-7 shooting to lead the Heat to a 49-42 halftime edge. Miami outscored Charlotte 13-6 in the final 4:15 of the quarter, a span that included eight points, including two 3-pointers, from Richardson.

Richardson was just two points shy of his career high of 22 points set earlier this season.

Thursday, December 29 Scoreboard

Charlotte 91, Miami 82

Memphis 114, Oklahoma City 80

Cleveland 124, Boston 118

Utah 100, Philadelphia 83

Phoenix 99, Toronto 91

Dallas 101, Los Angeles Lakers 89

Friday, December 30 Schedule (All Times Central)

Chicago at Indiana, 3 p.m.

Brooklyn at Washington, 6 p.m.

Miami at Boston, 6:30 p.m.

New York at New Orleans, 7 p.m.

Los Angeles Clippers at Houston, 7 p.m.

Milwaukee at Minnesota, 7 p.m.

Detroit at Atlanta, 7 p.m.

Portland at San Antonio, 7:30 p.m.

Philadelphia at Denver, 8 p.m.

Dallas at Golden State, 9:30 p.m.

Saturday, December 31 Schedule (All Times Central)

Memphis at Sacramento, 4 p.m.

Milwaukee at Chicago, 6 p.m.

Cleveland at Charlotte, 6 p.m.

New York at Houston, 7 p.m.

Phoenix at Utah, 7 p.m.

Los Angeles Clippers at Oklahoma City, 7 p.m.

Sunday, January 1 Schedule (All Times Central)

San Antonio at Atlanta, 5 p.m.

Detroit at Miami, 5 p.m.

Orlando at Indiana, 5 p.m.

Portland at Minnesota, 6 p.m.

Toronto at Los Angeles Lakers, 8:30 p.m.

Monday, January 2 Schedule (All Times Central)

Oklahoma City at Milwaukee, 6 p.m.

New Orleans at Cleveland, 6 p.m.

Utah at Brooklyn, 6:30 p.m.

Orlando at New York, 6:30 p.m.

Charlotte at Chicago, 7 p.m.

Washington at Houston, 7 p.m.

Phoenix at Los Angeles Clippers, 9:30 p.m.

Denver at Golden State, 9:30 p.m.