MIAMI — Malik Monk had the best scoring game of his career, and the Charlotte Hornets got a comeback they won’t soon forget.
Monk came off the bench to score 36 points and make nine 3-pointers, Devonte’ Graham added 24 points and the Hornets rallied from a 10-point deficit in the final 2:47 of regulation to beat the Miami Heat 129-121 in overtime on Monday night.
The 36 points was a Hornets’ reserve record, one better than the 35 that Graham had against Indiana on Nov. 5, 2019.
Monk sent the Hornets to OT by making a 3-pointer with 16.6 seconds left, and Charlotte never trailed in the extra period. Cody Zeller had 19 points and 12 rebounds, Gordon Hayward scored 19 and LaMelo Ball finished with 14 points and seven assists for Charlotte in his first start, replacing the injured Terry Rozier.
Jimmy Butler scored 25 points and Bam Adebayo added 23 for Miami, which got 19 from Max Strus. The Heat used a 24-7 run to turn a seven-point deficit into a 10-point lead late in the fourth, then couldn’t finish it off.
The Hornets made 21 3-pointers, tying the third-most in franchise history. They also set a season-high for points and topped the 30-assist mark for the ninth time this season.
Duncan Robinson had 16, while Tyler Herro and Kelly Olynyk each scored 11 for Miami. Herro’s status was in question because someone he lives with tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday. But Herro was cleared to play Monday afternoon, which indicates that the housemate likely got a false positive and returned multiple negative tests since.
It was the first game between the teams since March 11, the night the NBA suspended last season because of the pandemic.
“In some ways it feels like forever ago and then I walked into this building and it feels like yesterday. … Things have never been the same since. Hopefully we’re back there soon,” Hornets coach James Borrego said.
Charlotte hosts Philadelphia on Wednesday.
