Hornets' Win Earns Franchise 1st Playoff Victory in 14 Years

The Charlotte Hornets' 96-80 win over the Miami Heat on Saturday earned the franchise its first playoff victory since 2002, per ESPN Stats & Info.

Despite suffering consecutive blowouts in the first two games of the opening round series, Charlotte bounced back to earn a lopsided victory over Miami and snap its 12-game postseason losing streak.

The Hornets' youth provided key contributions in the winning effort. Rookie Frank Kaminsky III contributed 15 points over 35 minutes in his first start of the playoffs, and five-year veteran Kemba Walker tallied 17 points and seven assists.

Prior to Saturday, the most recent Hornets playoff win was a 115-97 drubbing over the then-New Jersey Nets in Game 1 of the 2002 Eastern Conference Semifinals. However, that was the Hornets' only victory of the series, with the Nets ultimately winning in five games en route to the NBA Finals.

The last time the Hornets won a playoff game, Jamal Mashburn was Charlotte's leading-scorer with 21.5 points per game and Baron Davis was the team's leading assist man at 8.5 per game.

Interestingly enough, Charlotte's current owner, Michael Jordan, was still a member of the Washington Wizards in 2002. 

The Hornets will play host to the Heat in a critical Game 4 matchup Monday, facing the prospect of heading back to Miami in a 3-1 hole.