Hive buzzing as Hornets sting Miami in NBA play-in

LaMelo Ball made a lay-up with 4.7 seconds left in overtime and Miles Bridges blocked Davion Mitchell's winning attempt at the buzzer as Charlotte beat Miami 127-126 in a wild start to the NBA's play-in games.

Ball finished with 30 points and 10 assists and Bridges had 28 points and nine rebounds as the Hornets won their first post-season home game in a decade to eliminate the Heat from the playoffs on Tuesday night (Wednesday AEST).

Coby White had 19 points, including a turnaround three with 10.8 seconds left in regulation to send the game to OT.

Mitchell scored 28 points and Andrew Wiggins 27 for the visitors, who lost Bam Adebayo to a lower back injury when Ball tripped him in the second quarter.

Charlotte, seeking their first playoff appearance in a decade, will travel to face the loser of Wednesday's match-up between Philadelphia and Orlando on Friday night for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Tyler Herro, who scored 23 points for Miami, gave them a 126-125 lead with 8.7 seconds left.

After a timeout, Ball drove the right side of the lane and made a leaning, right-handed lay-up to give the Hornets the lead.

The Heat, without any timeouts, pushed the ball up the court and Bridges chased down Mitchell to block his lay-up attempt, triggering a frenzied celebration.

Ball flexed at mid-court as players mobbed each other.

Despite the loss of Adebayo, Miami remained in control until late in the third quarter, when White banked in a triple and then added another from outside at the top of the key as part of a 10-0 Charlotte run.

White, acquired in a mid-season trade with Chicago, drained another three in the closing seconds of the term to give Charlotte an 89-83 lead.

The Heat then built a 102-95 buffer in the fourth behind two triples from Wiggins.

Charlotte tied it when White caught an inbounds pass and made an unbalanced three from the corner. Herro had a chance to win it in regulation but hit the back iron on another outside try.

In Phoenix, Deni Avdija scored 41 points - including a go-ahead three-point play with 16.1 seconds left - as the Portland Trail Blazers clawed back from an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the Suns 114-110.

Jordan Goodwin drove for a lay-up to give the Suns a 110-109 lead with 32 seconds left, but Avdija responded with a physical take to the rim, making a lay-up while getting fouled. He made the free throw for a 112-110 lead.

The home team had a chance to go back ahead, but Jalen Green's three-point attempt was off the mark. Goodwin grabbed the offensive rebound but was stripped by Australia's Matisse Thybulle to seal the win for the Blazers.

Thybulle played 13 minutes for Portland, contributing one three-pointer and a block.

Portland earned the No.7 seed in the Western Conference playoffs and will face the San Antonio Spurs in the first round.

The Suns host the winners of the Clippers-Warriors game on Friday. Whoever wins will earn the No.8 seed and face the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in the playoffs, but the losers' season is over.