Mateo’s Hoop Diary: Another Herro fourth-quarter masterclass wasted

The undermanned Heatles were behind the all-game in a failed effort to snatch two straight victories at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The guests shot poorly in the square, were hurt in the open court and were outrebounded by seven. 

In the first quarter, the Heat was late to contest three-point shots and missed its own deep looks, save for 17-year veteran Kevin Love and Duncan Robinson, who prevented early annihilation. But Pascal Siakam did most of the damage for the Pacers with seven consecutive points at the end of the first quarter, dribbling into the lane for jumpers and splashing a triple.

The Heat entered the second frame down eight points. Indiana’s TJ McConnell and Siakam successfully fired in the interior on the dribble. Myles Turner flushed a powerful open-court jam on Nikola Jović and made a 3-pointer as the trailer. And the Pacers scored instantly on three Heat giveaways.

But the guests countered with Robinson and Josh Richardson canning two transition trays plus Bam Adebayo nailing a mid-range jumper and finishing twice at close range. Defensively, they allowed two of nine 3-pointers and forced two turnovers in the passing lane in the sequence. 

The Heat was down at halftime, 49-52. Additionally, the team had 16 paint points, 14 on the break, nine via second chances, 12 off turnovers and 23 from the bench. 

The Pacers had 28 interior marks, 11 in the open court, zero on extra tries, nine after turnovers and eight from the reserves.

Afterward, the Heat deployed a 2-3 zone and Adebayo carried the offense, making four of eight attempts. But the Pacers throttled to a 16-point lead via multiple trays, a trip to the line and Turner plus Siakam attacking the close-range mismatch. 

The Heat entered the fourth quarter down 75-85. Then Tyler Herro lifted the crew from the gutter with 19 points, burying five of six trifectas and taking two trips to the line, never missing. He also set up Adebayo’s second 3-pointer. And Robinson tied the game, making a deep shot on the left side over Siakam. 

But Tyrese Haliburton responded, pouring in back-to-back 3-pointers. Turner finished the fourth quarter with 10 points on four of eight shots. And Siakam scored on a mismatch against Rozier from the top to the cup. 

The Heat lost, 110-119. The team had 28 paint points, 16 on the break, nine via second chances, 18 off turnovers and 42 from the bench.

Herro had 28 points on eight of 18 shots, with four rebounds, four assists, one steal and a turnover. 

Adebayo put up 24 points on 50% accuracy, with eight rebounds, two assists and two turnovers. 

And Robinson had 20 digits on six of 10 attempts, with four rebounds, four assists and two turnovers. 

The Pacers had 62 interior points, 18 in the open court, nine on extra tries, nine off turnovers and 22 from the reserves.

Turner dropped 34 points on 14 of 23 attempts, with nine rebounds, one assist and two blocks.

Siakam had 23 points on 81.8% shooting, with four rebounds, three assists, a steal and two turnovers. 

Bennedict Mathurin logged 21 points on six of 10 looks, with 12 rebounds, two assists, two steals and a turnover. 

And Haliburton had 16 points on 30.8% accuracy, with three rebounds, 13 assists and two blocks.

At the postgame presser, coach Erik Spoelstra said the Pacers “were able to control big muscle areas of the game.”

Observations:

1. It’s time to bench Terry Rozier. His best work was providing four offensive rebounds, scoring on two of them up close in the first half. But he misfired all five of his 3-point attempts and was not an impact player down the stretch.

In 2017, Spoelstra cut Dion Waiters’ minutes, then eventually put him back in the starting lineup when he earned it, and he blossomed before popping his ankle. It may be time to do the same thing with Rozier. 

2. Adebayo made his eighth and ninth 3-pointers of the season. He’s now shooting 30% from deep (9/30). 

3. Jaime Jaquez Jr. hurt his right ankle, stepping on McConnell’s foot after missing a baseline jumper in the third quarter. He was assisted to the tunnel and then limped to the locker room.  After the game, he said that he would have a better idea of the severity of the injury by Monday. 

4. Herro entered the fourth quarter with three of 11 baskets logged. His 19 points make him the seventh Heat player to log at least that many in the fourth quarter of a regular season game. The others were Dwyane Wade, who did it seven times, plus Kelly Olynyk, Goran Dragić, Kyle Lowry, Victor Oladipo and Duncan Robinson.

5. Haliburton had 13 dimes and zero turnovers. He picked the Heat apart on the break and in the half-court, finding cutters.

6. Two back-breaking plays: the corner triple Jović gave up to Turner in the last three minutes because he was sagged off too far. And Turner hit a right-wing pick-and-pop 3-pointer because Jović bit on a pump fake.

—

For more info on the Heat, subscribe to Off The Floor.