Miami Heat (43-39, 10th in the Eastern Conference) vs. Charlotte Hornets (44-38, ninth in the Eastern Conference)
Charlotte, North Carolina; Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. EDT
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Hornets -5.5; over/under is 228.5
PLAY-IN GAME: The Hornets and Heat square off with the winner advancing to play for the eighth seed.
BOTTOM LINE: The Charlotte Hornets host the Miami Heat in the NBA Playoffs Play-In Tournament. The winner moves on in the tournament to play for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs.
The Hornets are 26-26 in Eastern Conference games. Charlotte ranks fifth in the league with 12.8 offensive rebounds per game led by Moussa Diabate averaging 3.7 offensive boards.
The Heat are 10-7 against opponents in the Southeast Division. Miami is 21-31 against opponents over .500.
The Hornets are shooting 46.0% from the field this season, 0.5 percentage points lower than the 46.5% the Heat allow to opponents. The Heat average 13.7 made 3-pointers per game this season, 0.9 more makes per game than the Hornets give up.
TOP PERFORMERS: Kon Knueppel is averaging 18.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists for the Hornets. LaMelo Ball is averaging 22.5 points over the last 10 games.
Bam Adebayo is averaging 20.1 points, 10 rebounds and 3.2 assists for the Heat. Andrew Wiggins is averaging 2.4 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Hornets: 6-4, averaging 113.4 points, 44.8 rebounds, 24.9 assists, 6.3 steals and 4.1 blocks per game while shooting 45.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 107.1 points per game.
Heat: 5-5, averaging 125.8 points, 43.3 rebounds, 31.0 assists, 6.1 steals and 4.0 blocks per game while shooting 50.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 126.2 points.
INJURIES: Hornets: PJ Hall: day to day (ankle).
Heat: Nikola Jovic: day to day (ankle), Pelle Larsson: day to day (leg), Simone Fontecchio: day to day (ankle), Dru Smith: day to day (foot).
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
