CHARLOTTE, North Carolina — Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said LaMelo Ball should have been ejected for appearing to deliberately trip Bam Adebayo, leading to a lower back injury that knocked the Heat's star center out of Tuesday night's 127-126 play-in tournament loss to the Charlotte Hornets.

Ball fell to the floor after missing a shot on a drive to the basket early in the second quarter, and appeared to reach out with his left arm and grab Adebayo's left leg, causing the big man to fall on his back.

Ball was not called for a foul, and Adebayo remained on the floor as play continued. He eventually got up and walked to the locker room under his own power, but did not return.

"He should have been thrown out of the game for that," Spoelstra said."There is no place in the game for that."

Following the match, Adebayo did not speak to reporters.

Ball, who scored 30 points and made the go-ahead layup with 4.7 seconds left in overtime, apologized for his role in Adebayo's injury, but said he was disoriented because he had been hit in the head on the drive.

"I apologize on that one," Ball said. "I got hit in the head and didn't really know where I was. But I'm going to check on him and see if he is OK and everything."

When asked if he intentionally grabbed Adebayo's leg, Ball said he hadn't seen a replay and added:"Like I said, I got hit in the head and didn't know where I was and was just playing basketball. But, like I said, sorry, and I'm going to check on him."

Ball remained in the game and was not immediately checked for a concussion.

"I don't think it's cute, and I don't think it's funny," Spoelstra said after the loss, which ended Miami's season.

"I think it's a stupid play. It's a dangerous play, and obviously our best player was out.

"I'm not making an excuse. The Hornets played great and made those plays down the stretch. We had opportunities to win.

"It's a shame. He should be penalized for that. I don't think that belongs in the game, you know, tripping guys, shenanigans."

Match official Zach Zarba explained in a pool report why the play was not reviewed.

"The play wasn't whistled in real time. Play continued with a fast break. And because play wasn't stopped immediately, and there was no whistle on the play, the window to review the play was closed," Zarba said. "Play was stopped, after a change of possession, and then a timeout. So, by rule, our window to review that play then is closed."

Zarba said the officiating crew reviewed the play at halftime.

When asked if Ball should have been issued a flagrant foul, Zarba said: "At this point, that goes to league operations, and they'll make a determination on that in the coming days. So, they will make that determination and go from there."

Ball had only one flagrant foul this season, on Feb 5 in a game against Houston.

Andrew Wiggins said seeing Adebayo go down was a "gut punch" for the Heat.

"To lose the leader of the team, the captain of the team, seeing him go down was definitely tough, and guys had to rally around that," Wiggins said.

Despite the loss of Adebayo, who scored 83 points in a game last month, Miami had a chance to win at the end of regulation, but Tyler Herro missed a 3-pointer from the top of the key.

In overtime, Herro put the Heat up by one when he made three free throws with 8.7 seconds left after getting fouled by Ball following a Hornets turnover. Before that play, Herro hit a turnaround corner 3.

But, Ball's driving layup saved the day for the Hornets.

Miami's Davion Mitchell said he hadn't seen video of the play where Adebayo was hurt, but called it a "high-intensity game".

"I didn't grab nobody's ankle, but I grabbed somebody's shirt," Mitchell said.

"I just think it was just a physical game, because we were both fighting for our lives just to stay in. Obviously, you don't want to see Bam get hurt, especially like that, but it was a physical game."

The victory means Charlotte, beaten in its two previous appearances in the play-in tournament in 2021 and 2022, remains alive in the postseason while Miami is eliminated.

Charlotte will face the loser of Wednesday's Eastern Conference play-in game between the eighth-seeded Orlando Magic and seventh-seeded Philadelphia 76ers.

The reward for the winner of that game on Friday is a first-round playoff series against top seed Detroit.

In Tuesday's Western Conference play-in game a sensational 41-point display from Israeli forward Deni Avdija inspired the Portland Trail Blazers to a 114-110 upset of the seventh-seeded Phoenix Suns.

Agencies via Xinhua