The visiting Magic got shut down, and vintage Jimmy Butler returned.

Early, the Heat’s defense swarmed the Magic in man coverage and the 2-3 zone, contesting on time and forcing the guests to seven of 20 baskets in the first quarter. Markelle Fultz and Paolo Banchero were the only mystical ones causing problems- the former splashed a corner triple and two transition layups; the latter dunked on the break and pivoted past Terry Rozier in the post for a two-handed jam.

On offense, the Heat were bothered by the Magic’s backline and committed five turnovers. But Caleb Martin hit a pair of jumpers, Bam Adebayo dunked twice, and Tyler Herro got inside the lane for two layups. Jimmy Butler recovered three boards and supplied three dimes- finding shooters in the open and half court plus passing to a cutting Jaime Jaquez Jr. for a baseline score.

The rest of the crew logged three of nine attempts, but the Heat led 26-19.

In the second quarter, the advantage bulged to 20 points through seven minutes as the Heatles registered nine of 13 baskets. Then, the group took its foot off the gas, allowing Wendell Carter Jr. and Banchero to shatter the zone with mid-range jumpers. On top of that, Banchero slammed a putback in between three defenders, Jalen Suggs buried a right corner triple and Jonathan Isaac added a tray.

Following the hot start to the second frame, the Heat made 33% of its tries. To boot, Adebayo got flagged for his third penalty with 97 seconds left in the period. After he sat, the Heat scored one point to close, and the backline was attacked twice as Fultz overpowered Rozier in the post for a bucket and Banchero got to the line, making both freebies.

At halftime, the Heat were up on the glass by three and on the scoreboard 56-19, permitting the Magic 55.6% of attempts to fall in the second after only 35% in the first. Additionally, the hosts had 30 paint points, 16 on the break, four via second chances and nine off turnovers. The scoring leader for the club was Rozier, with 11 points and four dimes.

The Magic tallied 24 in the box, eight in the open court, four from extra tries and 10 off turnovers. Banchero was its main option, producing 14 points on 55.6% shooting.

Next, the Heat dispensed 40 points in the third quarter, marking the seventh occasion of the season the club has notched at least as many for a sequence. Adebayo was in charge, logging a putback and four more close-range baskets. Martin made a top-of-the-key long-two-pointer, dunked on the break and shook Moritz Wagner on the baseline for a reverse layup. And the rest of the crew racked up half of its shots and six of eight free throws.

Defensively, the Heat lost track of Carter, allowing a pair of triples and two dunks. Banchero was another issue -hitting a pull-up triple on the break, spinning past Rozier for a jumper in the paint and returning to the line, contributing four freebies.

Despite weak inside and long-range protection in the third, the Heat started the fourth quarter ahead 96-75. The dull security continued for nearly five minutes as the Magic filed five consecutive baskets to cut the lead to 10 points.

Then Butler erupted, scoring three straight times. He canned a step-back corner triple, dropped another banger in transition, and drove into M. Wagner for a layup, catapulting the Heat back up by 18 points.

The team recorded its last six of nine baskets to end the game. Additionally, it allowed the Magic just 39.1% of its tries in the fourth quarter.

The Heat won 121-95 and collected four more rebounds than the Magic. It had 58 paint points, 27 on the break, 10 via second chances and 19 off turnovers. Butler was the high Heatle with 23 points on six of nine looks, plus eight rebounds and eight assists. Rozier was next on the scoring ledger with 18 points, and he had seven dimes and six boards.

The Magic had 44 interior points, 18 on the break, 11 from extra tries and 12 after turnovers. Banchero had 23 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.

At the postgame presser, coach Erik Spoelstra said, “That’s four games in a row now where we look a lot more consistently closer to our identity defensively.”

In the locker room, Butler was asked about his hot 3-point shooting and his goal of making half of his trays this season. He said, “I think everyone wants me to shoot more of them, honestly. I’m not going for that, though. I’m still going to run in there and hit people.”

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Merlin’s powers couldn’t save the Wizards from getting neutered by the Heat’s 2-3 zone in the second half after success against it in the first. Yet, in quarter two, the visitors were thrown in a double-digit ditch, but Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo severed the hosts’ defenses, combining for 11 baskets on 15 tries while most of the group struggled.

In the first frame, Washington’s Corey Kispert auditioned to get rescued, splashing three triples. Additionally, the rest of the Wizards logged half of its attempts, including four in the restricted area and scored 13 points off five Heat turnovers.

Despite the visitors registering 16.7% of 3-point attempts, Butler thrivingly targeted the rim four times, scoring 10 of the club’s 31 points. Kevin Love nailed a pick-and-pop jumper on the left wing and threw his weight around in the paint, taking multiple trips to the line for three freebies. And Adebayo had two consecutive alley-oop dunks, running PNR with Tyler Herro and Terry Rozier. (Consecutive lobs to #13 haven’t been seen since ‘Nam.)

But the Heat went down 11 points nearly four minutes into the second quarter after giving up a second-chance triple to Delon Wright. In response, Butler recorded a putback, made four freebies and splashed a late triple. Herro connected on two trays. And Adebayo scored six more points as the group closed the half on a 22-14 run.

At halftime, the Heat was down 56-59 but ahead on the glass by 11. Furthermore, the squad had 32 paint points, seven on the break, 12 via additional tries and four after turnovers. Butler was the high Heatle, scoring 19 on six of seven shots.

The Wizards had 20 points in the square, three in the open court, three from extra opportunities and 13 after turnovers. Kispert was the scoring leader with 15, making five of nine trifectas.

Defensively, the Heat’s zone shut down the Wizards, permitting 29% of ventures to fall for 15 points.

On the attack, Rozier made five free throws and set up Highsmith in the dunker spot for a deuce, passed to Love for a transition layup and distributed to Jaime Jaquez Jr. cutting through the middle for a soft finish. Butler gashed the baseline for a bucket and buried three more charity shots. And Love prosperously got inside twice and swished a right-wing tray.

The Heat entered the fourth quarter ahead by 13 points. After four minutes and change, it went up its largest advantage of the evening, 16, but the Wizards gave one last push, making eight of its last 17 shots.

The Heat watched its cushioning evaporate as Herro, Rozier, and Josh Richardson failed to tally any 3-pointers in eight attempts. On top of that, Butler was uninvolved after checking in.

With under a minute left, Jordan Poole’s pull-up 3-pointer at the top of the key cut the Heat’s lead to five points. He got to the charity stripe once more after drawing contact against Rozier on the break, followed by one of two makes.

Rozier was then fouled twice on purpose, closing for the squad with four points.

The Heat won 110-102 and outrebounded the Wizards by 16. It also scored 58 in the box, with 13 on the break, 19 from second chances and 14 after turnovers. Butler had 24 on the scoring ledger on seven of 10 looks, plus nine rebounds and three dimes. Adebayo dropped 20 points and 14 rebounds.

The Wizards had 48 paint points, eight on the break, seven from extra attempts and 19 after turnovers. Kispert tallied 26, making 55.6% of shots.

At the postgame presser, coach Erik Spoelstra said the group was able to show more of its identity and that the third quarter was its best stretch. (Heat’s Defensive Rating in the frame was 57.7.)

On the topic of Rozier getting to the line, Spoelstra said, “[Rozier] has an ability to play on the ball, off the ball, to get to the basket…you could see the possibilities with [Rozier]. He’s a guy that to a fault, wants to fit in, wants to complement. Once he gets comfortable, these are the shots he’s made a name for over his career, in particular, the last two or three years.”

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To start, the offense was jammed worse than traffic during rush hour on the Don Shula Expressway. But the defense made it just as ugly for the visitors, aside from Keegan Murray and Kevin Huerter, with on-time contests in man coverage and the 2-3 zone.

It took nearly seven minutes of action for the Heat’s offense to settle itself. Jimmy Butler cut back door for a lob assisted by Kevin Love’s pass at the top of the key + Jaime Jaquez Jr.’s back screen on Harrison Barnes. To end the quarter, the Heat converted its next four of seven shots to take a 28-22 advantage.

Then Josh Richardson blasted the Kings with a handed-off triple by Adebayo at the top, two left-wing trays, a left-handed layup in transition and a floater in the lane to start the next frame. Additionally, Adebayo contributed four of six baskets, thrashing the paint in transition and the half-court. Two possessions later, Caleb Martin carved the baseline for a reverse layup, giving the Heat an 18-point lead, its largest of the night.

But the separation on the scoreboard was short-lived.

Defensively, the club lost track of Murray behind the arc when he cut on the baseline and the instance he ran past miniature Terry Rozzier on a transition lob similar to a wideout elevating over a cornerback for a touchdown. Domantas Sabonis broke interior protections, pouring eight points into the paint. And the Kings went on a 24-10 run to close the quarter.

At halftime, the Heat was up 59-54 and ahead by four on the glass, with 26 points in the paint, nine on the break, two via second chances and five after turnovers. Richardson was the scoring leader with 16 on 66% shooting, followed by Butler’s 11 on four of six attempts.

The Kings had 30 points in the square, plus 14 in the open court, six from second opportunities and four after turnovers. Murray had 21, making 73% of looks, and Huerter dropped 11 on five of seven tries.

Next, the Heat had one of its top halves of the season moving the ball, recording 19 assists on its last 21 baskets.

In the third quarter, Rozier got the ball to Butler for an inside drive when his dribble picked up an extra defender, plus had four more dimes. Herro tallied a lob to Adebayo after the handoff up top, resulting in a two-handed dunk, and two feeds to Butler in the right corner and baseline for points. Adebayo set up Herro for a nine-foot floater with a handoff and found him at the top of the key for a trifecta when Murray overreacted at the nail.

Conversely, the Heat conceded four of 10 3-pointers. Adebayo ignored Sabonis.  Rozier and Martin incautiously left their man. And De’Aaron Fox splashed a pull-up 27-footer. The defense prevented any shots at the rim but gave up six out of 11 attempts in the paint non-restricted area, which is 10.1% better than the league average for the Kings.

In the fourth, the Heat cranked up its defensive RPMs close to what it was in the first quarter. Doubling after the catch, flying around in the 2-3 zone, baiting into tough shots and a chase-down block by Richardson on Huerter overwhelmed the Kings. Initially, JRich’s denial was called a goaltend, but after quickly seeing the review on the monitor above, coach Erik Spoelstra boldly demanded a challenge. The Heat allowed its guests to register 35% of its baskets in the sequence.

On offense, Butler prosperously shot over Barnes from mid-range on the left side, dunked in transition and made four freebies. Richardson connected on two triples and got past Huerter for a layup. And Adebayo thwacked the rim on a lob from Herro and buried a jumper at the nail over Sabonis.

The Heat snapped its seven-game losing streak, 115-106, with a franchise record of 40 assists. On the side, it had 50 paint points, 15 on the break, seven from second tries and 12 after turnovers. Butler had 31 on the scorecard on 71% shooting with seven rebounds and six assists. Adebayo supplied 16 points, 11 rebounds and four dimes.

The Kings racked up 54 interior points, 22 on the break, 17 on extra attempts and six after turnovers. Murray finished with 33 points on 12 of 18 ventures. Sabonis had a triple-double- 19 points, 17 rebounds and 13 helpings.

Herro handled the on-court interview. He said that after Tuesday’s “intense” film session, the players had to counter. “[We had to] give more effort on both ends. I thought we responded well to the meeting yesterday, and we came out with a W.”

At the postgame presser, Spoelstra was relieved that the longest losing stretch in his career is over. He said, “For one day, it feels great, and I’m okay with everybody having a little bit of an exhale, and then we’ll get on that plane and get ready to start this process again when we get to [Washington] D.C..”

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Terry Rozier, the new guy on the block, finally blended into the offense in a vain effort, logging 21 points on eight of 14 shots, as most of the team left him hanging. Jimmy Butler got going after the Heat was jumped. And the defense provided little resistance up top with late help.

Even without the three-ball being a factor, the Suns hung 33 points in the first quarter. Jusuf Nurkić picked up two fouls in four minutes, but his backup, Drew Eubanks, checked in, channeling Suns legend Tom Chambers, scoring on two putbacks and three rim attacks. The rest of the visitors made seven of 19 baskets in the quarter.

For the Heat, Rozier triumphantly fired away at the nail over Kevin Durant, swished from the corner facing Nurkić and dribbled past Bradley Beal and Keita Bates Diop for layups. Adebayo had zero attempts but three horrid turnovers, one of them resulting in Beal intercepting the pass in Heat territory and then dunking and another in Durant hitting a jumper after throwing the pass above Butler’s head, out of bounds.

Half of the second quarter elapsed with the Suns converting six of 12 tries before Butler joined the fray. Next, he scored through the middle in transition and logged two putbacks.

Adebayo misfired on a fadeaway and floater against Nurkić. Subsequently, he blanked a hook in the post and layup in transition over Eubanks.

And Herro’s made two of seven baskets in the frame.

On the other side, Eric Gordon, age 35, sliced into the lane three times like it was 2009. And Durant broke the 2-3 zone with jumpers on the baseline, elbow and wing.

At halftime, the Heat was down 49-62 and behind on the boards by three. Additionally, it racked up 16 paint points and seven on the break, 14 via second chances and four after turnovers. Butler was the team’s scoring leader, notching 13, followed by Rozier with 12 and Herro’s 11.

The Suns had Booker, Durant and Eubanks in double digits on the point ledger, while Beal had nine. The guests also registered 30 paint points, 11 on the break, 13 on extra attempts and six after turnovers.

Later, the Heat failed to stop Booker’s jump shot at the nail, elbow, baseline and paint in the halfcourt, plus a tray in transition. On top of that, Durant, Beal and Gordon combined for 10 of 15 baskets in the interval.

Yet the Heat were shell-shocked, scoring on just 32% of ventures. Rozier dropped three 3-pointers, and Butler whisked into the paint for a layup and a putback.

The hosts entered the fourth quarter below 74-100. The Suns added 18 more points on 29% of attempts. The Heat cranked out 31 points on 10 of 17 shots, but it was a worthless effort.

The Heat lost 105-118, making it the club’s seventh straight and longest of coach Erik Spoelstra’s career as the head. It recorded just 32 paint points, 16 on the break, 21 on second chances and 11 following turnovers. Butler had 26 points with eight rebounds and four assists. Rozier contributed 21 on his scorecard.

For the Suns, Durant, Booker and Gordon each surpassed 20 points and Beal had 19.

At the postgame presser, Spoelstra said, “You have to do tough things… We are not doing that consistently enough, and while we are going through this period of time offensively, we’re not able to overcome those stretches where we’re missing shots and turning the ball over, and on top of that, we are not defending the way we are capable of.”

At his locker, Butler said, “We’re not guarding anybody.”

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Terry Rozier’s off-the-bench Heat debut was quiet, and the offense struggled to score, looking worse at times than what it was with Kyle Lowry, who was booted with a first-round pick to Charlotte. Following the first half, the scoreboard highlighted 49-42 in favor of the Grizzlies.

In the first quarter, the only things working were a pair of Jimmy Butler paint attacks. Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo executed two-man actions. And Haywood Highsmith gave a jolt on offense with a transition hook and triple.

The Heat’s new point guard, Terry Rozier, was subbed eight-and-a-half minutes in. His first points in a Heat jersey came at the line after getting fouled in transition, plus he added two rebounds. His one miss was a left-handed layup through the middle over Jaren Jackson Jr.’s help defense.

Defensively, the Heat permitted the Grizzlies five of 12 trifectas because of late switches in man coverage, ball movement dicing the zone and the on-ball defender going under the screen. One basket was allowed inside the arc. Bam Adebayo hounded Jackson, blocking two hooks in the lane, and the rest of the team contested cleanly, giving up only 21 points.

In the second quarter, Rozier relocated to the corner after dribbling into the paint for a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer, his only field goal of the half. But he failed on two drive-bys- isolating David Roddy on the left side and misfiring on a pick-and-roll layup because of Jackson, the low man’s presence. Mostly, he looked like someone just traded to a new squad who isn’t trying to step on anybody’s toes on offense- a mistake because that’s not why they got him.

Butler downshifted to third gear, passing up an opportunity to draw contact with Jackson at the rim on a transition drive, instead passing out to the corner. In nearly eight minutes of the frame, he made one of two buckets at the right corner and two free throws while the squad was desperate for someone to take over. The rest of the Heatles registered 20% of tries.

At halftime, the Heat was down seven on the scoring ledger, behind on the glass by two, with eight fastbreak points, two via second opportunities and nine from turnovers. The offense was pathetic, logging 72.7 points per 100 half-court plays, good enough for the second percentile of all games this season, per cleaning the glass.

Butler had nine points on three of seven shots. Adebayo had six on the scorecard on 20% of attempts but supplied six boards, the two aforementioned rejections and three dimes. Tyler Herro had seven points and four negligent turnovers.

On the other side, the Grizzlies converted 10 of 21 triples. Vince Williams had 13 points, torching the corners and beating Rozier on a hard closeout to get into the paint for a layup. GG Jackson had 11 points, burning the Heat’s transition defense from long range, rolled to the rim and made three free throws.

In the third quarter, two horrific passes by Butler- inbounding the ball and passing while in the air, not knowing where to go- resulted in a three-pointer and a fastbreak score for the Grizzlies. Offensively, he made four freebies and rolled to the rim, bumping Roddy away for a bucket.

Adebayo had three blocks- chasing down Jackson and denying him twice in iso- with six points and five rebounds.

Herro maneuvered inside for a pull-up jumper against man coverage, another facing the zone and connected on a reverse layup and floater.

Rozier had two assists, a turnover, a miss and a rebound.

In the fourth quarter, Caleb Martin was the high Heatle, making all four baskets. Rozier broke Xavier Tillman down with his dribble for a left-handed scoop layup and made a right-hander against Jackson in drop coverage. But he missed his three 3-point ventures.

For the Grizzlies, Williams dribbled by Butler, nailing a floater over Adebayo and splashed a left-corner triple when left unattended. Jackson drove past Butler for a layup when the switch created a mismatch and jolted Adebayo backward on a drive, hitting a jump hook. And Scotty Pippen Jr. beat Rozier from the top to the cup for a deuce, had a fastbreak score, and dusted Martin off a switch to the rim.

Despite the Heat having its most efficient quarter late, it had 17 turnovers and lost 96-105. The squad spent 17.3% of the time in transition, yet it only added .7 points per 100 of those possessions, good enough for the 35 percentile of all games this season, per CTG.

The Heat were behind in fastbreak points 13-21, down in second chance opportunities 6-11, and trailing in points off turnovers 14-24.

Butler had 15 points on four of 10 tries. Rozier ended with nine on 27.3% shooting.

Memphis’ Williams had 25 on the scorecard on 80% of attempts.

At the postgame presser, coach Erik Spoelstra praised Adebayo’s defensive effort, saying, “It’s just a shame we couldn’t turn those kinds of defensive performances into one of those ugly wins we really like.”

When asked about how Rozier works with Herro, he said it was tough to get excited, considering the loss was a buzzkill. He added, “I definitely see the possibilities with those two guys…We’ll really be able to build on that chemistry that we just quickly saw tonight. And they’ll get a ton of more minutes together, so it will happen one way or another.”

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