Brandon Miller got open and the ball found him. And if that sounds like football, the former Alabama standout did use that sport as an analogy in describing his game-winning shot in the Charlotte Hornets’ victory on Wednesday night.

Miller’s first NBA buzzer-beater lifted the Hornets to a 108-107 victory over the Detroit Pistons at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.

“I played a little wide receiver back in the day,” Miller said of avoiding being boxed out. “I know a couple of moves just to get somebody off of me. But I think that’s just what coach (Charles) Lee preaches every day – just being a relentless offensive rebounder. It was more than one person down there than just me. The ball just happened to find me.”

The game-winning shot lifted Miller from goat to hero.

With nine seconds to play and the Hornets leading by one point, Malik Beasley stole the ball from Miller, leading to a layup by Ron Holland to put the Pistons ahead 107-106 with six seconds remaining.

Out of a timeout, Charlotte ended up with 3-point shot by Grant Williams, but Miller managed to rebound the miss and stick the ball in the basket as time expired.

“I tip my hat off to my vets, coaching staff for keeping my confidence high, not worried about the last play,” Miller said. “Having the short-term memory to not remember the last play and just move on until the clock is all zeroes. I think that’s what coach Lee preached to us in that timeout.”

Miller was 5-of-15 from the floor before the final bucket. He finished with 19 points, six rebounds and four assists against the Pistons.

“It was like a cool moment to see it all come together in terms of how he turned it over in a crucial moment,” Lee said, “and to find the composure and the poise and the confidence and the resilience to just battle back and continue to fight doesn’t surprise me because that’s who Brandon Miller is. His character and who he is is about winning and building winning habits. And so with that type of guy and that type of mentality and mindset, he’s going to really help this organization continue to build sustainable success.”

The second player picked in the 2023 NBA Draft, Miller finished third in the voting for the NBA Rookie of the Year Award last season.

His second season got off to a bumpy start when he sustained a left glute strain in Charlotte’s season-opening game on Oct. 23. Miller missed the next four games. Wednesday night was his third game back in the lineup and produced his highest-scoring outing of the season after he averaged 17.3 points per game as a rookie.

The Hornets play the Indiana Pacers at 6 p.m. CST Friday in Charlotte. The Hornets have a 3-5 record, but got two of the losses from the Boston Celtics, last season’s NBA champions.

Charlotte had a 21-61 record last season.

“I think it’s great start for us with this record that we have,” Miller said, “and I think it’s going to be even better, just building off this win.”

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.