HHH GameTime Preview: Hornets Visit Miami

Tonight at 6PM, the Heat welcome the Charlotte Hornets to the AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami, FL. It's the second of four matchups this season between the clubs. Charlotte won the first on November 5th, they'll play in Charlotte on January 21st and again in Miami on April 7th. The Heat are playing the 11th game of an 11 game home-road rotation, and will stay in town to host the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday. Charlotte is on a quick one game roadtrip and will return home for a three-game homestand featuring the Los Angeles Clippers, the Portland Trail Blazers, and the Warriors.

The last time Miami faced Charlotte was on November 5th, when the Hornets took a 96-89 decision in North Carolina. Al Jefferson scored 28 points with 10 rebounds for the Hornets, and Kemba Walker added 18 with seven assists in the win. For the Heat, Dwyane Wade led the way with 25 points and seven assists, and Chris Bosh added 23 with 13 rebounds. * Box Score * Full Recap

It's good to get the monkey off our back - Al Jefferson, who had never beaten the Heat during the LeBron era.

At The Hive has more on the Hornets.

Miami played last night, and defeated the Orlando Magic, 99-92. Chris Bosh had 32 points with 10 rebounds and Mario Chalmers had 24 with eight assists and five rebounds in a spot start to relieve injured Norris Cole. Cole had appeared in 160 straight games before sitting. For the Magic, Nikola Vukevic had 33 points and 17 rebounds in defeat. * Box Score * Full Recap

I knew how they were playing, and I just wanted to keep switching up on them and not give them the same look. That's when I started popping and getting some open looks. I was able to build a rhythm on that. - Bosh

Orlando Pinstriped Post is your source for the Magic.

Charlotte's last game was also against the Magic, but unlike the Heat, the Hornets couldn't pull out a win, falling 105-100 on Friday night. Jefferson led Charlotte with 24 points and 11 boards, Walker had 15 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists, and Lance Stephenson had 12 points, six helpers and five boards. Gary Neal scored 17 off the bench. For the victorious Magic, Evan Fournier had 21 points, Tobias Harris had 17 with 16 rebounds, and Elfrid Payton scored 16 with five assists. * Box Score * Full Recap

There was no panic and we talked about that at halftime. I told them we would get a chance to get back into the game. This was a great lesson for a lot of guys in the locker room. - Magic coach Jacque Vaughan, who's squad was at one point trailing by 23.

GameTime: 6PM ET

Where2Watch: NBATV Canada, SportSouth, Sun Sports

Where2Listen: NBA GameTime Audio, WFNZ 610AM, 104.3 The Ticket

All-Time Record: Miami holds a 52-36 edge, winning nearly 60% of the time.

Current Record

Miami Heat: 7-6, .538, on pace for a 44-38 record. Third in the Southeast Division, fifth in the Eastern Conference, 15th in the NBA. Last Five: L-L-W-L-W. Playoff Odds: 78.4%

Charlotte Hornets: 4-9, .308, on pace for a 25-57 record. FIfth in the Southeast Division, 12th in the Eastern Conference, 24th in the NBA. Last Five: W-L-L-L-L. Playoff Odds: 24.4%

Common Thread

Power Forward Josh McRoberts played parts of the last two seasons with the Hornets, scoring 8.7 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game over 104 appearances.

Milestones

Chris Bosh just passed LeBron James into 15th on the all-time Heat leaderboard with his 300th game played. With 13 field goals, he will become the 10th player to reach 2,000 for the Heat. Udonis Haslem will become the fifth Heat player to sink 2,500 with five more.

If Norris Cole plays tonight, he will pass Michael Beasley into 27th all-time if he plays 19 or more minutes, with 5,169. He and Bosh each have 128 three-point shots, and can pass Jason Kapono and Bruce Bowen with two more, putting them in 28th. Three steals will see Cole tie Jason Williams in 22nd with 194 steals. Nine points will give him 1,511, tying Brian Shaw in 35th.

With two three-pointers, Mario Chalmers will become the fourth Heat player to reach the mark, along with Glen Rice, Eddie Jones and Tim Hardaway. He needs one block to tie Dan Majerle with his 68th block, in 35th.

Chris Andersen needs two rebounds to tie Anthony Carter in 43rd, with 579. With two steals, he'll move into a tie for 17th with Jermaine O'Neal, with 149. Haslem will tie John Salley in 10th with one steal, giving him 233.

Team Leaders

Injury Report

Norris Cole still has a dislocated finger on his non-shooting hand, and Dwyane Wade has missed the last five games with tightness in his left hamstring. For the Hornets, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is out indefinitely with a stress reaction in his right foot, while PJ Hairston is out with a sprained right ankle.

Join us later in the Gamethread, 1/2 hour before the tip - and check back later for our award winning recap.