CHARLOTTE, N.C. >> After the Charlotte Hornets dropped the first two games of their first-round series against the Miami Heat, team owner Michael Jordan and assistant coach Patrick Ewing approached coach Steve Clifford with a suggestion: Post up rookie 7-footer Frank Kaminsky more.

“When you have two first-ballot Hall of Famers. … and they both say, ‘Post Frank,’” Clifford joked, “you have to post Frank.”

The strategy worked.

Jeremy Lin had 18 points, while Kaminsky scored nine of his 15 points during an 18-0 run in the third quarter that broke open a tie game as the Hornets beat the Heat 96-80 on Saturday night to snap a 12-game playoff losing streak and earn their first postseason victory in 14 years.

The Heat lead the series 2-1, with Game 4 set for Monday night.

“This isn’t about winning one playoff game, it’s about winning a playoff series,” Clifford said of ending the team’s playoff drought. “This gives us a chance.”

Kemba Walker had 17 for Charlotte. Marvin Williams, a non-factor in the first two games while hitting just 1 of 17 shots, finished with 12 points and 14 rebounds.

Luol Deng scored 19 points on five 3-pointers, and Dwyane Wade added 17 for Miami. Hassan Whiteside had 13 points and 18 rebounds but battled foul trouble.

Miami, which shot 58 percent from the field in the first two games, was limited to 34 percent shooting.

The Hornets outscored the Heat 52-28 in the paint and had four turnovers to Miami’s 15.

“We made a lot of mistakes,” Deng said. “In the first two games we did a good job with of taking away of guys’ tendencies. They rebounded and ran out when they got the lead and keep going.”

Looking to combat the Heat’s height advantage on the perimeter, Clifford moved Williams to small forward — in place of the injured Nicolas Batum — and inserted Kaminsky and Al Jefferson into the starting lineup.

It didn’t help early on when Deng knocked down four 3-pointers in the first six minutes on Kaminsky.

But in the third quarter Kaminsky got matched up on Wade in the low post and took over, almost scoring at will.

“Obviously, it didn’t go great,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of the matchup of Wade on Kaminsky.

Kaminsky had 11 points in the period, including a turnaround jumper over Joe Johnson. Lin followed with a 3-pointer from the right wing to push the lead to 14, raising the fans clad in black “Enter the swarm” T-shirts and white Hornets headbands off their seats.