MIAMI — Norman Powell scored 25 points as the Miami Heat beat the Charlotte Hornets 126-108 in the first NBA Cup game of the season Friday night, giving coach Erik Spoelstra a win a day after his home burned down.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. nearly recorded a triple-double, finishing with 18 points, eight rebounds and nine assists.
The win came after the Heat set a franchise record with 53 points in the first quarter, marking the second-highest scoring first quarter in NBA history. Miami led 64-38 with nine minutes left in the second quarter.
Seven minutes later, the Hornets went on a 27-2 run, cutting the Heat’s lead to one point at 66-65.
That was as close as Charlotte would get, as Miami never relinquished the lead the rest of the game.
After putting up 50 points in the first quarter, the Heat followed with only 19 in the second — joining Memphis (March 5, 2023, vs. the Clippers) as the only teams in the shot-clock era to score 50 or more in one quarter and fewer than 20 in the next during the same regular-season game.
The Heat host the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday night in the second leg of a back-to-back. The game will be the first officially aired on Local 10 News, with tipoff scheduled for 8 p.m.
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