Luol Deng continues to make an impact for the Miami Heat, who improved their regular-season record to 8-6 following a 94-93 home win over the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday.
Deng was 10 for 14 from the field to finish with a game-high 26 points, his second highest contribution since joining the Heat in the offseason.
Early this month, the South-Sudanese led the Heat past the Dallas Mavericks with a game-high 30 points.
For Miami to regain its dominance in the Eastern Conference, it will require a lot of team chemistry, he later said.
On Sunday Mario Chalmers took over Miami’s offensive role to finish with 10 assists.
“We did a good job in moving the ball,” Deng told reporters in the post game, before adding: “My whole game is really playing over other guys. The more I get the rhythm we will be a better team.”
Chris Bosh and Chalmers contributed 20 points apiece for Miami who held on in the final seconds to force the Hornets’ fifth straight defeat.
Deng was 2 for 3 from beyond the arc, grabbed eight rebounds and dished out three assists in 37 minutes.
“Early on we recognised that I was feeling it. As I said it is really about being patient.
“It is all about finding that consistency. It’s a long season, there are going to be so many games. We are not even in 15 games yet. We just need to come and build that chemistry and keep moving forward.”
Jefferson finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds for Charlotte, Lance Stephenson added 17 and Kemba Walker contributed 16.
Despite the win, the Heat showed some sloppy plays, turning the ball over 16 times.
“The ball was not moving. Those are the kind of minutes that you want eliminate to get where we want to get as a team. We get to focus on 48 minutes to be as good as we can be,” Deng pointed out.
