Buzzing in Charlotte for its second In-Season Tournament game in Group Play, the Heat overcame a porous defensive start to hold off the Hornets, winning six in a row behind Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo’s dominion.

In the first quarter, the Hornets stung the Heat on half its attempts and drew three fouls in three minutes on Kyle Lowry that benched him until the next half. Pick-up points to take away the 3-point shot weren’t set for Miami, resulting in PJ Washington lighting them up for a dozen.

But Butler was assertive early, attacking drop and single coverage for 11 points on five of six tries. Duncan Robinson was still burning from the weekend’s back-to-back wins and nailed two 3-pointers when his cover was caught ball-watching. And the defensive firm Adebayo and Haywood Highsmith forced LaMelo Ball into six misses at short and long range.

The Heat installed its 2-2-1 press to slow down the ball in the second quarter, and Highsmith stole it in Charlotte’s territory for a pick-6. He took over the game with 10 points, a block on Théo Maledon at the elbow and two more takeaways, reaching in when Ball spun past him and poked it loose when Ish Smith dribbled by.

Adebayo faced-up Nick Richards in the post for a quick drive-by and slammed the rock over Smith. Butler set up Highsmith in the corner and Thomas Bryant below the rim, plus buried a near half-court shot to end the half.

At intermission, the Heat was ahead 57-48, with 14 points scored off turnovers and 26 in the lane. Taking care of the ball had allowed Miami four extra cracks at the goal.

In the third quarter, the visitors registered 30 points on 56.3% shooting without a 3-pointer. Butler earned multiple charity line trips after getting fouled on rim attacks. Adebayo danced into the paint for two fadeaways and a layup in pick and roll assisted by Robinson.

But the Heat’s arc protection collapsed in man coverage and the 2-3 zone, allowing five of nine trays to fall. Washington also supplied six more points for Charlotte off a putback, a driving hook when beating Butler off the dribble and a layup from a baseline curl.

The Heat was up seven points to start the fourth but tallied its first four of 13 baskets. Trying to capitalize, Washington scored eight, and Ball added nine more to his scorecard on 37.5% shooting but committed three ruinous turnovers.

Butler got to the line a few more times. Adebayo supplied four more points. But Jaime Jaquez Jr., bailed out his teammates with baskets on the break, baseline and from deep.

Miami won 111-105. The only Heatles to play all of the fourth quarter were Adebayo, Jaquez and Josh Richardson.

Butler finished with 32 points, making 71.4% of his field goals, with five assists and four rebounds. And Adebayo had 21 on half of his shots, plus 11 rebounds.

JJJ was tasked with the Bally Sports TV inquiry on the court. He said his first perfect road trip with the team felt “pretty good” and that he’s looking forward to getting back to Miami. When asked about the defense, he said, “We’re all just bought into the defensive end of the floor, trying to do what we can to get stops. It gives a lot of fuel to our offense going the other way.”

At the press conference, coach Erik Spoelstra said he rolled with Jaquez in the fourth quarter because of his grit and mental/emotional stability. “He’s learning things, he typically doesn’t make the same mistake twice…He’s earned the trust of the staff, but more importantly, he’s earned the trust of his teammates. They feel comfortable with him out there, and he knows how to fit in. Defensively, he can do a lot of different things, which fits into our system.”

The Heat’s skeleton crew visited the Hawks in Hotlanta, neutralized Trae Young and snatched the Southeast division lead, capping off four dubs in a row. Without Jimmy Butler (personal reasons), Tyler Herro (ankle sprain), Caleb Martin (knee tendinosis) and R.J. Hampton (knee injury), the Heat punished the Birds from the inside and out, logging its highest-scoring opening period of the season (41).

Bam Adebayo swished his initial four jump shots from midrange over Clint Capela and De’Andre Hunter. Duncan Robinson was the receiver on two fastbreak baskets. And Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored, rebounded and assisted twice while pestering his matchups.

The visitors contested jumpers on time, allowing the Hawks two field goals in half the quarter while keeping length on Young. Even with the defense slipping in the last few minutes, allowing three trifectas to fall, the Heat still held a 30.7 percentage lead in field goal efficiency.

In the second quarter, Miami flashed its 2-3 zone with man-to-man coverage but conceded baskets on half of Atlanta’s attempts. What bailed them out was playing at breakneck speed, forcing nine turnovers, Adebayo’s unblemished stroke, Jaquez producing 10 more points plus a steal, and Dru Smith wreaking havoc as a help defender with a block and a takeaway under the basket.

At halftime, the Heat was ahead 63-52, with 10 points scored off turnovers, seven off second opportunities and eight on the break. Its primary concern was stopping Dejounte Murray, who, despite a hand in his eye or a man on his hip at close range, finished four of six tries.

In the third frame, Josh Richardson rediscovered his jumper and got to the cup for a layup. Kyle Lowry converted two 3-pointers against Atlanta’s zone and ripped Murray’s defensive rebound. And Jaquez scored twice, posting up Young and Murray.

Miami had 30 points in the interval, but Atlanta matched it, capitalizing on seven possession changes that turned into nine points. Murray continued dazzling, blowing past Jaquez from the top to the hoop, shooting over Robinson, beating everyone on the break and splashing two extra triples.

In the fourth quarter, the Heat’s offense manufactured 24 points on 29.4% shooting. It also committed five more turnovers off sloppy passes and a traveling violation on JJJ. But Adebayo kept it under control, earning three trips to the charity line, not missing and recovering eight rebounds.

For Atlanta, Young finally cracked Miami’s code, adding 14 to the scoreboard. Miami held the rest of his team to 33% efficiency in the fourth.

With three minutes left and the Heat up 13, the Hawks intentionally hacked Haywood Highsmith, a career 45.9% shooter at the line, twice. He made three of four and wasn’t disrespected again.

The Heat won its second game on the road 117-109. Adebayo clocked out with 26 points on nine of 12 shots, 17 rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks. Jaquez added 20 points with four dimes. And Lowry contributed 17 to his scorecard.

When questioned on the court postgame, Jaquez said everyone stepped up. “We had some guys missing…Every guy that gets an opportunity came up big for us tonight, and we’re just happy to get a win on the road.”

At the formal presser, coach Erik Spoelstra said at the pre-shootaround meeting, various Heatles were indicating through their body language that they wanted to be the ones to show out in Butler’s absence. “It was about collectively coming together and trying to get a tough win on the road… Throughout the roster, we had a lot of contributions. [Richardson] bounced back and had a really good game. He and Dru Smith, defensively, were fantastic whether we were in man [coverage] or zone.”

 

 

At shootaround Monday morning, LeBron James spoke glowingly about his old club as a “top tier franchise” and one he has affection for. It didn’t stop the NBA’s senior citizen from punching in 13 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter and serving the hosts another close match as his partner Anthony Davis watched from the sideline.

Early, AD and James broke past perimeter defenses for six close-range baskets on post-ups and drive-bys against man-to-man coverage. Miami countered with 33 points, equaling LA’s output, behind Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro, logging eight of 15 shots from the starters in the first quarter. Off the bench, Duncan Robinson hit a pair of 3-pointers against lax coverage and cut inside for a layup off a bounce pass by #13.

In the second frame, the Heat didn’t miss any of its seven shots in the paint. LA’s Cam Reddish was lost defending Butler off-ball. Even Robinson beat Taurean Prince from the wing to the cup for two points and dusted Austin Reaves to supply Thomas Bryant with a layup.

For the Lakers, Reaves produced in pick and roll, transition and on a putback. James tallied two more field goals before intermission by bulldozing into the lane. Davis managed five minutes of action in quarter two, not looking right as he dealt with pain in his groin after a collision with Adebayo.

At halftime, the Heat was ahead 62-59, scoring 13 points off the Lakers’ turnovers but just four on second tries. Its guests had capitalized on 55.8% of its attempts and recorded 34 points in the paint.

In the third quarter, D’Angelo Russell got past Kyle Lowry, Haywood Highsmith and Josh Richardson for layups and a jumper. James scored two more buckets on the break. And Prince got loose into the lane using a dribble handoff and running behind a pindown. For the Heat, Adebayo and Butler combined for 20 of its 28 points.

Through 3 intervals, Miami had taken care of the ball, turning it over eight times. Then the fourth started with Adebayo and Butler getting a breather on the bench as the Heat made half its shots until both were back on the floor. The downside was that until that happened, the Heat coughed up four possessions in almost five minutes and would lose the ball four more times by game’s end.

In between, LA’s Russell was ejected for clapping in front of the refs and then using “vulgarity” toward one during a stoppage.

Jamie Jaquez Jr. logged consecutive field goals, pivoting through lane and racing on the break to give Miami a 10-point lead before he was subbed out for Butler. Comically, when JB tracked Reddish’s drive inside the box and cleanly contested it by going straight up, the refs blew a whistle.

Reddish was getting in position to take his free throws, but coach Erik Spoelstra angrily walked into the lane, demanding a review. Upon inspection, the officials decided that Butler did not foul but that Adebayo had as a helper when his hand quickly swiped at the ball. Reddish made one of two.

For the rest of the match, the Heat supplied just two of its last 10 tries as James and Christian Wood sizzled on rim rolls plus catch-and-shoot jumpers. The Lakers shrunk the deficit to one as James powered through Richardson, posting him for a bucket with a freebie.

En route to the finish line, Miami misfired its final five shots, and Adebayo committed a traveling violation with nine seconds left to give the Lakers one closing opportunity. Butler guarded James’ drive from the top of the key to the depths of the paint, forcing a pass to Reddish in the left corner that bounced off the iron. The Heat won 108-107, led by Adebayo’s triple-double with 22 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists, the first in organization history with so many boards.

At the Lakers’ postgame presser, coach Darvin Ham praised his group’s effort despite the loss. He also was pleased with the look Reddish had on the final play. “We encourage him. He works on that shot every single day…it’s not that close of a game without [Reddish’s] contributions on the defensive end and some of the things he did offensively.”

In the Heat’s press conference room, Spoelstra said there were more positives than negatives in his club’s one-point win. “I’m not going to be a downer about this one. It’s a good win. Obviously, we have to clean up some things. More [of] the decision making…”

The Heat’s overall record improved to 3-4, and it will not practice on Tuesday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The inaugural In-Season Tournament commenced for East Group B with the Miami Heat earning its second win of the year. Debuting its City Edition jerseys on a loud red court, featuring a large trophy at the center, in Haywood Highsmith’s first start of the season, the hosts burned the Wizards at the stake.

Group Play was all gas, no brakes in the first quarter as the visiting Wizards cast a spell on the Heat, preventing it from containing a cascade of bombs and inside blows. The defense was sagging off and unable to stop dribble penetration. Yet, Tyler Herro, Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo were in command of the offense, retaliating with four of nine 3-point makes and six buckets in the restricted area.

Butler scored 11 early points, posting up, running the break, firing from distance and at the line with two steals. For Washington, Kyle Kuzma and Jordan Poole shot over openings on the perimeter and raced down the floor for quick scores, totaling 17 points on nine attempts. At the end of the first, the game was tied at 34, yet Miami put opposing center Daniel Gafford in foul trouble with two penalties and tried four additional free throws.

In the second quarter, Washington’s pick-and-roll defense was powerless against Herro driving to the cup or feeding his big man when doubled. In a 90-second span midway through the frame, he was the architect of a 9-0 run, scoring or assisting on four straight baskets. Duncan Robinson recorded nine points, cutting to the hoop and connecting on a corner banger on his second attempt.

Defensively, Miami held Washington to 40.9% shooting and didn’t allow any of their starters multiple field goals in interval two.

In the last 35 seconds of the first half, Highsmith’s knee collided with Washington’s Deni Avdija, covering a dribble drive. Next, coach Erik Spoelstra subbed in Josh Richardson and got Highsmith checked out in the locker room. Fortunately for Miami, he was able to play almost 10 minutes in the following quarter.

At halftime, the Heat was up 60-54 with eight points scored off turnovers and seven on second opportunities. Herro was more than halfway to a triple-double, accumulating 12 on his scorecard, eight rebounds and seven helpings.

In the third period, Miami logged 41 points for the second time this season in a 12-minute span, on this occasion mainly behind Adebayo finishing on jump shots and at close range. Butler made all three of his attempts on cuts and a pick-6. Herro contributed two trays as well.

Entering the final quarter, the Heat was ahead 101-81, but the Wizards deployed full-court press, trapped Herro at midcourt, plus forced seven turnovers to cut Miami’s lead to 10 with four minutes left. It was as if the Wizards heard Miami’s play-by-play broadcaster Eric Reid say during the third quarter, “Some empathy for Wizard’s head coach Wes Unseld Jr. It looks like they have a long year ahead of them in the nation’s capital…”

Washington beat Miami in transition, delivered the entry pass to the middle and burned the perimeter protection, outproducing the hosts 33-20. Yet, Herro put them down, sizing up rookie Bilal Coulibaly and hitting a baseline jumper over him. He finished an assist shy of a triple-double with 24 points.

The Heat won 121-114 and had a seven point advantage in the rebounding department.

At the postgame presser, Spoelstra said he hated changing the starting rotation after losing four in a row because outsiders look at it as an indictment of a member. “This is just a move for now. [Kevin] Love is going to have a role with us. Everything that we wanted last year, I just feel like we are going to need that kind of decorated veteran experience…”

The win was Miami’s second of the year. The regular season record is 1-4 and its mark in Tournament competition is 1-0.

The Heat will not practice on Saturday.

Tyler Herro’s homecoming soured despite his efforts to prove a point after breaking his hand at Fiserv Forum 19 minutes into the Playoffs. This time, the Heat got Bucked, with Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo leading the stampede. Bam Adebayo was absent with a hip injury and unable to shield the paint plus switch outside. Haywood Highsmith was still out with a left knee sprain. For three quarters, Orlando Robinson auditioned for a new squad – the Beijing Royal Fighters. And still, the Heat clawed back to within six points during the last 30 seconds.

Even with the missing contributors, Herro was the singular Heatle who came prepared until his colleagues picked it up late. A night earlier, the Atlanta Hawks thumped the Bucks by 17 points and, at one moment, had them down 31. Monday, there was no chance of that, given how Miami pantsed Milwaukee in the Postseason and was hurt going in. Cream City’s unit was sloppy in the first half but still in control.

In the opening quarter, the Heat used the 2-2-1 press to slow the Bucks, not allowing any fastbreak buckets. Herro exploited Milwaukee’s drop coverage, hitting consecutive high-difficulty floaters over Bobby Portis. Thomas Bryant scored eight points by cutting and posting. Jimmy Butler recorded nine early points before taking his foot off the gas.

The Heat was tied at 28 after a quarter, but the Bucks charged to a 7-0 run before coach Erik Spoelstra called timeout. He’d seen enough after Herro was blitzed and ripped on two possessions by Portis, and Butler looked disinterested not playing with Lillard. Rookie Jamie Jaquez Jr. then missed four shots in a row before the close of the half.

O. Robinson was BBQ and picked up two fouls in three minutes. One of his penalties was so obvious that when Spo instinctually cried flop on Cameron Payne, referee Tony Brothers walked past him, rolling his eyes. Josh Richardson left 3-point shooters open, but Herro kept the group on life support with the squad’s three final baskets of the quarter, pushing his output to 18 points.

At intermission, the Heat was down 52-62 following a last-second top of the key trifecta, swished by Jae Crowder when Herro over-helped on the wing. The Bucks scored 28 points in the paint and 11 were off Miami’s turnovers. Antetokounmpo and Portis repeatedly mauled the backline.

Next came the infamous turd quarter as the Bucks went on an 11-4 run before Spo called another break that failed to stop the bleeding. For the period, Herro was the team’s offense, but the Heat conceded 14 of 22 baskets to eight different Bucks, digging a 25-point ditch.

Milwaukee then committed the cardinal sin of not extinguishing the Heat’s embers. In the fourth, Spoelstra benched Butler, and the visitors chopped away with a bevy of 3-pointers and paint attacks. O. Robinson nailed a bomb from the corner, beat Portis off the dribble from the top to the cup, scored at close range off a roll, and had five rebounds and five assists. Duncan Robinson canned three triples.

With under two minutes left, D. Robinson cut the deficit to six as he maneuvered to the square for a transition floater. His leaning 3-pointer in front of two defenders on the right wing was the last retaliatory blow the Heat landed.

Milwaukee won 122-114.

After his third match with the Bucks, Lillard said as the team goes on, it will continue to get better. “We [have] a great starting group, but I think one of our greatest strengths is our bench, our depth. When we [have] guys coming in, moving the ball, playing with energy, getting deflections… we’ll be a hard team to beat.”

At the postgame presser for the losing side, Spoelstra said his group earned its 25-point deficit, but then the young crew battled back. “I’m sure Milwaukee was just trying to play it out, hoping we were going to go away, but our guys did some good things out there…we just need to move the needle this week.”

The Heat’s record is now 1-3.