Goran Dragic scored 33 points, and the Miami Heat made 21 3-pointers to beat the Charlotte Hornets 112-99 on Thursday and pull back into a tie for eighth place in the Eastern Conference.
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James Johnson shot 6 of 7 from 3-point range and had 26 points, while Hassan Whiteside had a strong second half and finished with 13 points and 20 rebounds as the Heat dealt a near-fatal blow to Charlotte’s playoff hopes.
The loss drops the 10th place Hornets 2 1/2 games behind the Heat and Indiana Pacers with three games remaining.
Miami holds the head-to-head tiebreaker over Indiana for the final spot in the East.
The 21 3-pointers tied the most ever allowed in by the Hornets in franchise history.
Nic Batum led Charlotte with 24 points, while All-Star Kemba Walker had 18 points on 6-of-17 shooting.