CHARLOTTE, N.C. — With “Protect the Hive” shirts scattered across Spectrum Center on Tuesday, the Hornets furthered their quest to make the playoffs for the first time since the 2015-16 season.

In a battle that came down to the final 9 seconds of overtime — in front of a record 19,698 fans — Charlotte bested the Miami Heat, 127-126, at home.

Despite sharpshooting rookie Kon Knueppel being held to six points — largely because of a scoreless second half — the Hornets were able to upend the visitors by the smallest of margins in the first home play-in game in the franchise’s history.

Power forward Miles Bridges put up 15 points and six rebounds in an aggressive, back-and-forth first half that saw Miami lose standout forward Bam Adebayo to a back injury following a collision with Charlotte guard LaMelo Ball.

After trailing by two at halftime, Bridges added another 13 points in the second half and overtime. Ball — who appeared to cause Adebayo’s fall with a swipe to his left leg after Ball had already fallen to the ground — finished the game with 30 points, five rebounds and 10 assists. Ball made the game-winning layup with 5 seconds left the game.

Hornets shooting guard Brandon Miller added 23 points and five rebounds.

Coby White, the Hornets’ energetic sixth man, exploded in the third quarter, producing 14 points following halftime. That onslaught of scoring helped the Hornets control the game heading into the fourth quarter with fans cheering his name following a late reprieve from the action. White ultimately finished with 19 points and four rebounds.

White tied the game at 114 apiece with a corner 3-pointer with 10.8 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. That bucket eventually led to overtime.

The Heat were paced by point guard Davion Mitchell (28 points) and forward Andrew Wiggins (27), who combined for 55 points. Center Kel’el Ware added 12 points and 19 rebounds for Miami. Guard Tyler Herro produced 23 points and six assists.

Herro was fouled by Ball with 8.7 seconds left as the Heat guard attempted a 3-point shot. Herro ended up making all three free throws to give the Heat a one-point lead.

But Ball put the exclamation point on the night with an aggressive drive to the rim with 5 ticks left on the clock. The Heat were unable to answer as time expired on a made dash to the other side of the court.

The Hornets (45-38) will now face the loser of the other Eastern Conference play-in matchup between the Philadelphia 76ers (45-37) and Orlando Magic (45-37). That bout will take place Wednesday in Philadelphia at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

Charlotte will travel for that Friday matchup (7:30 p.m.) with their playoff aspirations on the line for a second consecutive game.

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