Mateo’s Hoop Diary: Tyler Herro didn’t get enough help in Toronto as the Heat fell 116-119

The Heat failed in their comeback against the Raptors in Toronto, going 1-1 in the home and away miniseries and falling back to a .500 record (9-9).

Tyler Herro’s first-quarter flurry couldn’t save the Heat from being pushed to the edge of Jurassic Park in a double-digit deficit early. He had 13 points on three trays and a drive through the middle. But the defense was suspect, not guarding the arc well and losing the sniper and driver in transition. It was so bad that coach Erik Spoelstra yelled to close the lane from RJ Barrett in the open court, but nothing happened as he made a layup.

The second quarter started with the Heat down 24-34. The Heat tied up the game on a 14 to 2 run on nine straight points from Terry Rozier at the arc and line, plus actions from Pelle Larson and Bam Adebayo. They momentarily held the lead.

On the other side, center Jakob Poeltl made a putback, set up his teammate for a cut through the middle, and drew a foul on Adebayo. On top of that, the screen rolls exposed the corners.

At halftime, the Heat was down 60-65. The crew had 24 paint points, seven on the break, eight via second chances, 13 off turnovers and 27 from the bench.

The Raptors had 34 paint points, seven on the break, 11 on spare tries, three off turnovers and seven from the bench.

Then Butler muscled his way into the lane for two layups, scored in transition, and made two freebies. And Robinson connected on two treys.

But the Raptors countered with 14 of 24 field goals at close, mid and long-range to go up 11 points at the end of the period. Barrett maneuvered into the lane like a cobra cornering its prey. Scottie Barnes dished out two more dimes plus made a pull-up jumper over Haywood Highsmith at the nail. And Chris Boucher added six points.

Subsequently, the transition defense was hosed and the four turnovers the Heat’s offense committed didn’t help.

As the crew was down double digits within the last four minutes, Rozier ignited. He canned a step-back triple and dribbled through the middle for a layup. Butler scored in the open court through contact. Then Barrett and Herro traded 3-pointers, but the ladder needed to make one more to tie and failed.

The Heat lost 116-119. They had 46 paint points, 18 on the break, 16 via second chances, 22 off turnovers and 40 from the bench.

Herro had 31 points on nine of 16 attempts, with four rebounds, three assists, two steals and one turnover.

Butler had 17 points on six of nine attempts, with five rebounds, three assists and one steal.

Adebayo logged 13 points on 38.4% shooting, with 20 rebounds, seven assists, one steal and five turnovers.

The Raptors put up 68 paint points, 11 on the break, 13 via second chances, 18 off turnovers and 23 from the bench.

Barrett had 37 points on 75% accuracy, with seven rebounds, five assists, one block and four turnovers.

Barnes put up 23 points on nine of 17 attempts, with 10 rebounds, nine assists and four giveaways.

And Poeltl logged 17 digits on six of 12 looks, with 11 rebounds, three assists, two steals, one block and one turnover.

After the game, Spoelstra said, “In this league, you get what you deserve.”

Observations:

1. Barnes cut up the Heat with his playmaking in transition and the half court. Four of his feeds were to Barrett, two to Boucher, one to Poeltl, Davion Mitchell and Jamison Battle.

2. Adebayo and Butler didn’t provide enough on offense. Butler was walking with a limp at the end of the fourth quarter. After the game, he said he’s not sure if he’ll be able to play versus the Celtics on Monday.

3. The defense was obliterated. The Heat conceded 20 points more than they allow for the season in the square (48). They got caught ball-watching, and we’re not good enough at defending the dribble.

4. Rozier continues to be productive off the bench, but one of his shots in the fourth quarter, a triple in transition when the Heat had the numbers, failed, and it was a dumb attempt.

5. Robinson missed all five shots in the fourth quarter. Two of three 3-point attempts were pressured and one was an open miss.

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