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Live Updates: SoFi Play-In Tournament | Heat-Hornets starts the postseason

Check out the best highlights, news, notes and observations from the first night of the SoFi Play-In Tournament.

Ben Lambert, for NBA.com

Norman Powell and the Heat lead at the half over the Hornets in the SoFi Play-In Tournament.

What we know about Tuesday’s games:

  • Welcome to the postseason!
  • The 2026 SoFi Play-In Tournament begins tonight with Heat-Hornets (7:30 ET) and Trail Blazers-Suns (10 ET).
  • Both games are on Prime.

APRIL 14 / 9:21 ET

‘Coby White is not human!’

Another five straight points for Coby White (16 pts), giving the Hornets an 89-83 lead after three quarters.

APRIL 14 / 9:19 ET

Charlotte responds

With a 13-3 run, capped by back-to-back 3-pointers by Coby White (11 pts), born in Goldsboro, North Carolina.

They’re up 84-79 with 1:22 to go in the third quarter.

APRIL 14 / 9:14 ET

‘The Heat are starting to wear the Hornets out in transition’

Says Stan Van Gundy, with the score 76-71 Miami and 4:23 left in the third quarter.

Miami’s been pushing the ball in transition, earning a 12-2 advantage in fast break points, while the Hornets haven’t found their shooting touch.

APRIL 14 / 8:50 ET

Heat up at the half

54-52.

Andrew Wiggins and Davion Mitchell have 10 points apiece to lead the Heat, while LaMelo Ball has 17 points to top the Hornets.

Bam Adebayo went back to the locker room with a lower back injury — he’s questionable to return.

Miami’s held the Hornets to 38.8% shooting from the field so far, knocking down 46% of their shots themselves.

APRIL 14 / 8:23 ET

Dueling in the postseason

37-36 Hornets with 7:43 to go in the second quarter. The teams are close in basically every team statistical category — the Heat have a slight advantage in points in the paint, 22-16.

These division rivals saw each other four times in the regular season, with the Heat winning three of them. That familiarity is evident so far.

APRIL 14 / 7:59 ET

Hornets take the early lead

22-18 with 4:50 to go in the first.

LaMelo Ball (9 pts) is off to a quick start in the biggest game of his NBA career, while the Heat are pushing the pace in transition to battle back.

APRIL 14 / 7:00 ET

The tale of the tape: Heat-Hornets

Bam Adebayo’s Heat take on Moussa Diabaté’s Hornets in the opening half of our SoFi Play-In Tournament doubleheader on Prime.

Miami Heat: 116.7 ORTG (13th), 114.5 DRTG (13th), +2.2 Net Rating (13th)

The Heat have been an aggressive, idiosyncratic team all season, playing at the league’s fastest pace (103.4) and scoring the second-most points per game (120.9), although their efficiency stats are middle of the pack.

The individual defensive matchups will matter tonight against Charlotte — can LaMelo Ball and Kon Knueppel slow Tyler Herro and Norman Powell? Does Brandon Miller contain Andrew Wiggins and Jaime Jaquez Jr.? We’ll see if the Heat can create gaps to exploit in transition.

Charlotte Hornets: 119.4 OTRG (5th), 114.4 DRTG (12th), +5.0 Net Rating (8th)

Since Jan. 1, the Hornets have the best net rating (+10.7) and offensive rating (121.9) in the NBA. as they got healthy and found their rhythm as a unit. Grant Williams and Coby White have bolstered the bench, while Moussa Diabaté and Ryan Kalkbrenner have been welcome additions as unexpected stalwarts at the center position. 

They’ll need to keep their nerve and control the tempo against an experienced Miami squad. This team plays slow — a pace of 96.8, which is 26th in the NBA.

APRIL 14 / 6:30 ET

Welcome to the SoFi Play-In Tournament!

Deni Avdija and the Trail Blazers host the Phoenix Suns in tonight’s SoFi Play-In Tournament nightcap on Prime.

We’ve got two games this evening on Prime as the postseason begins:

NBA.com’s Shaun Powell has breakdowns of each contest for you to check out before the action.

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