Heat burn Hornets in 32-point Game 1 victory
MIAMI - Luol Deng scored 31 points on 11-for-13 shooting, Hassan Whiteside added 21 points and 11 rebounds in his postseason debut, and the Miami Heat wasted no time taking control of what became a 123-91 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference first-round series.
Dwyane Wade scored 16 points in 25 minutes for the Heat. Joe Johnson and Amar'e Stoudemire each scored 11 points and Goran Dragic had 10 assists for Miami.
Miami scored 41 points in the first quarter to tie one franchise playoff record, set another with the 123 points - topping the 121 in the 2012 NBA Finals clincher against Oklahoma City - and never trailed.
Heat: 28 field goals in the paint
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 18, 2016
Hornets: 28 made field goals
Game 2 is Wednesday night in Miami.
Nicolas Batum scored 24 points for the Hornets, who emptied the bench with 4:11 left and Miami leading by 31. Kemba Walker added 19 in his fifth career playoff game, all of them against Miami and all of them losses.
Miami has won 10 consecutive first-round games. It was Erik Spoelstra's 100th postseason game as Miami's head coach. He is 64-36, that .640 percentage second-best in NBA history behind only 11-time champion Phil Jackson (.688).