The Miami HEAT fell to the Charlotte Hornets 122-113 Tuesday night at Spectrum Center. Kelly Olynyk led the way for the HEAT with 18 points. The game was presented by Miami Cancer Institute at Baptist Health South Florida.

1. Whiteside At It Again

Two nights after stealing the show against the Spurs, Hassan Whiteside was at it again versus the Hornets.

Whether he was setting hard screens, taking advantage of mismatches inside, or making smart decisions with the ball in his hands like on this great pass to Olynyk…

…Whiteside continued to ball out.

Oh yeah, let’s not forget this and-one alley-oop courtesy of Rodney McGruder:

On the defensive end, the 7-footer was just as impressive and came away with two blocks in the first quarter, including this swat on Frank Kaminsky and save:

That wasn’t all, though.

Just look at Whiteside’s activity on this sequence in the second quarter as he defended Cody Zeller on the perimeter and then rotated to deflect a pass from Malik Monk:

So yeah, it was a pretty good night for the big fella.

When it was all said and done, Whiteside tallied 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting, 15 rebounds and a steal to go along with his aforementioned two blocks.

2. KO Finds The Range

After coming off the bench his last time out, Olynyk started at the four and wasted little time to get going.

Time and time again, the 27-year-old took advantage from deep and fared quite well next to Whiteside in the frontcourt.

One of his best sequences of the night came early in the contest when he stole the ball from Marvin Williams and then hit a three on the other end.

Smooth.

In addition to his team-high 18 points on 5-of-10 shooting, including 3-of-4 from distance, Olynyk also amassed four boards, two steals and an assist.

3. McGruder Keeps Up Strong Play

Although McGruder knocked down a few threes, he continued to display his improved ability to make plays off the dribble.

If that aforementioned alley-oop to Whiteside wasn’t enough, here’s a nice finish off another solid screen from the center:

Of course, McGruder also did his thing on the defensive end and held his own against Jeremy Lamb, Nicolas Batum and Kemba Walker.

This block on Zeller was pretty cool, too:

In all, McGruder recorded 12 points, three rebounds, three assists, one steal and a team-high plus-nine rating to go along with that block above.

Other Takeaways:

-Derrick Jones Jr. showed his freak athleticism on a gorgeous up-and-under finish and this awesome alley-oop in transition…

…but he left the game in the second quarter after hitting the floor hard. He was diagnosed with a bruised right shoulder, and X-rays returned negative.

Jones Jr. ended up with four points on 2-of-2 shooting in 7:24 of action.

Game Note:

-Bam Adebayo (Right AC Joint Sprain), Wayne Ellington (Left Ankle Soreness), James Johnson (Sports Hernia Surgery) and Josh Richardson (Left Thigh Contusion) sat out. Dion Waiters (Left Ankle Surgery) did not travel.

Looking Ahead:

-The HEAT will now head home to prepare for their next preseason game against the Wizards on Friday at 7:00 PM. While that matchup is on the road, Miami’s first preseason tilt at AmericanAirlines Arena will be on Monday, Oct. 8 against the Magic. Tickets for that contest can be found here.