Norman Powell scored 25 points to lead the Miami Heat to a 126-108 victory over the Charlotte Hornets in an NBA Cup game on Friday night. The Heat set a franchise record with 53 points in the first quarter. Rookie Kon Knueppel had a career-high 30 points for Charlotte.
The Miami Heat started strong against the Charlotte Hornets, scoring a franchise-record 53 points in the first quarter, which ranks as the second-highest scoring first quarter in NBA history. This outburst helped Miami build a 26-point lead early in the second quarter, at 64-38 with 9:20 remaining.
Charlotte mounted a comeback with a 27-2 run over the next seven minutes, narrowing the gap to 66-65. However, the Hornets never took the lead, and Miami pulled away in the fourth quarter for the 126-108 win. The Heat struggled offensively in the second quarter, managing just 19 points, becoming only the second team in the NBA's shot-clock era—since 1954—to score at least 50 points in one quarter and fewer than 20 in the next during the same regular-season game. The other instance was Memphis on March 5, 2023, in a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.
Norman Powell led Miami with 25 points, while Andrew Wiggins added 22 and Pelle Larsson contributed 19. For Charlotte, rookie Kon Knueppel had his highest-scoring game as a professional with 30 points. Tre Mann scored 20, and Miles Bridges recorded 14 points, 12 rebounds, and seven assists.
Rookie center Ryan Kalkbrenner shot 5-for-7 from the field for Charlotte, but his season shooting percentage dipped from 82.9% to 81.3%. The victory came a day after Heat coach Erik Spoelstra's home was destroyed by fire.
Up next, the Hornets host the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday night, while the Heat face Portland on Saturday night.