Heat Fall to 0-3 as Hornets Win 115-110 in Charlotte

The Miami Heat are still searching for their first win of the season. Charlotte held off Miami 115-110 at Spectrum Center on Saturday night, dropping the Heat to 0-3 and handing the Hornets a second straight victory. Miami's new-look roster, built around Giannis Antetokounmpo, fouled out of the picture late — literally, as Antetokounmpo was disqualified — and Charlotte's undermanned rotation made the plays down the stretch.

For our premium subscribers, the headline is simple: the Charlotte pick cashed. We sold the Hornets as a live home underdog at +128, and they delivered the outright win. The 3.5-point spread was never in doubt once Charlotte took control. Our model's 115.0-115.1 projected scoreline landed almost exactly on the final margin, a good sign for the number itself.

Where we missed: our moneyline lean was on Miami at -152. That was wrong. The Heat's 0-3 start is now a genuine storyline, and their inability to close against a short-handed Charlotte team is the kind of result that should adjust how the market prices them going forward. The total, set at 230.5, came in well under at 225 combined points.

The takeaway: fading a winless team with chemistry questions is a profitable angle, even against a favorite's price. Charlotte's home underdog value was the right side, and the result reinforces that early-season standings can lag behind what the tape shows.