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During Saturday night’s game between the Charlotte Bobcats and Miami Heat, one could come to the conclusion that the rims of both baskets were welded shut as neither team shot above 36 percent (Miami shot 35.9% while Charlotte shot an anemic 29.2%). And the final score would reflect the poor shooting by both squads.

The Bobcats’ big scoring drought from midway in third quarter through the latter part of the fourth quarter enabled Miami to slink out of American Airlines Arena with the 77-71 win over Charlotte.

The Heat got off to a 13-4 start, then didn’t score again in the final 3:20 of the opening period. Dwyane Wade had only five points halfway through the game, while Quentin Richardson kept the Heat close with shots from beyond the arc. He drained his first four shots – all three pointers – then had a couple of treys in the second quarter to tie things up at 41.

After putting together a 9-0 spurt midway through the third quarter to take a one-point lead, Charlotte failed to score a basket for the final 4:30 of the period – with the scoring drought lasting well into the fourth quarter.

Nonetheless, the Bobcats kept the game close.

The Heat put together a 10-0 run mostly behind Michael Beasley to make it 71-61, and the Bobcats  kept making its free throws to keep things close. Gerald Wallace made a layup to cut the deficit to two with 1:24 remaining, but Mario Chalmers made three free throws down the stretch to ice the game for Miami.

Richardson led the Heat with 18 points (including 6three-pointers), 5 rebounds, a steal and a block while Beasley added 16 with 7 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal and 2 blocks; Wade chipped in 14 with 5 rebounds, 9 assists, a steal and 5 blocks while Udonis Haslem, while scoring only 9 points, grabbed 13 rebounds.

Stephen Jackson led the Bobcats with 18 points, 5 rebounds and an assist while Wallace added 15 with 8 rebounds and 2 steals; Boris Diaw chipped in 12 with 9 rebounds, an assist, a steal and a block.

Miami (36-34) plays again on Monday when they visit New Jersey to take on the Nets while Charlotte (35-34) travels north to Washington, D.C. to face the Wizards Tuesday night.