The 2026 NBA Play-In Tournament got underway on Tuesday. The tournament began with an electrifying game at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. In a battle that went into overtime before being decided, the Charlotte Hornets beat the Miami Heat 127-126. Due to the fact this was a knockout game, the Heat have been eliminated. Charlotte will now play the loser of Wednesday’s game between the Philadelphia 76ers and Orlando Magic on Friday to determine who will be the eighth seed in the East.
In the 7-8 game in the Western Conference, the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Phoenix Suns 114-110. With the win, the Trail Blazers will be the seventh seed, and will now face the San Antonio Spurs in the first round of the postseason. Unlike the Heat, the Suns are not eliminated with the loss. They will host the winner of the Wednesday game between the Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors on Friday to determine who the eighth seed will be.
In the Hornets/Heat game, Hornets shooting guard Coby White of Goldsboro, North Carolina made a three-point shot from 23 feet with 10 seconds left to force overtime. Then in the extra period, Hornets point guard LaMelo Ball of Anaheim, California made the game-winning layup with four seconds left, and then Hornets power forward Miles Bridges of Flint, Michigan won the game with a game-winning block. It was an exceptional game for Ball, as he had the double-double (30 points and 10 assists).
The Hornets/Heat game contained multiple controversies. First, Bam Adebayo of the Heat left the game with an injury after he was tripped by Ball. Adebayo was trying to prevent the basketball from going out of bounds. Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra was irate after the game, and believed Ball should have been ejected. Secondly, it was an awful night for Amazon Prime, which had the television rights for the game. They had technical difficulties in overtime and prevented fans from watching two real-time minutes of the extra period. According to Rory Robinson of The Mirror, many fans who paid to watch the game have been asked to be reimbursed.
Meanwhile in Phoenix, the Trail Blazers had an impressive fourth quarter comeback. Phoenix had a commanding 100-89 lead with six minutes and 41 seconds left. That is when Portland went on a 25-10 run to win the game by four points. Portland small forward Deni Avdija of Beit Zera, Israel had the impressive double-double with 41 points and 12 assists.
