Mateo’s Hoop Diary: Heat failed to execute in crunch time against the 76ers

Haywood Highsmith and Terry Rozier saved the crew from shame in the first half, and as they were up eight points in the last six minutes, the Heatles muddied their shorts.

The Heat was absent Tyler Herro (foot). 

Coach Erik Spoelstra called a timeout as the 76ers seized a 10-0 lead in the opening possessions. Tyrese Maxey, the one the Heat passed on in the 2020 Draft for Precious Achiuwa, burned defenses with a swarm of jumpers and drive-bys. And reigning MVP Joel Embiid wiped out coverages, shooting from long and mid-distance, plus broke into the paint for two layups off the catch.

In a delayed response, Jimmy Butler, Terry Rozier, and Nikola Jović clapped back, gashing the 76ers transition defense for a dozen points. In the half court, Butler maneuvered into the paint off a pick-and-roll set with Bam Adebayo for a floater, and Rozier made a step-back triple over Nicolas Batum in the left corner.

Haywood Highsmith checked in for Duncan Robinson eight minutes in. Before the sequence ended, he came in as a help defender from the top, rejecting Kenyon Martin Jr.’s layup and stealing Philadelphia’s inbound pass under its basket, resulting in Jaime Jaquez Jr. scoring at the rim through contact.

Through 12 minutes, the Heat was down 29-39, shooting 42.9% to the 76ers 57.1%.

Next, Highsmith took charge as the only Heat player recording multiple field goals (5) in the period. He nailed two catch-and-shoot triples, slashed into the paint to make a reverse layup, carved up the baseline for a dunk and dropped one putback. And apart from contesting deep shots, he poked the ball loose from Kelly Oubre Jr. on a left-side drive.

Additionally, Caleb Martin claimed the Heat’s first lead on a transition pull-up banger. But the 76ers finished the half on a 20-9 burst. Maxey got the cup easily in the open court and sped past the zone. Embiid contributed six more points. Cameron Payne swished a 3-pointer. And Paul Reed made a layup driving left after catching in the middle against the zone.

Notably, the Heat’s last basket of the half sprung off Rozier intercepting Embiid’s bad pass and nailing 28-foot fastbreak triple as the horn buzzed through Kaseya Center.

At halftime, the Heat was down 55-63 and above on the glass by two. The Heat had 24 paint points, 15 on the break, two via second chances, 11 after turnovers and 26 from the bench.

Highsmith recorded 12 points on five of seven looks, with three rebounds, one assist, two steals and a block. Rozier had 11 on his scorecard on 33.3% shooting, with one steal and two turnovers. And Butler had nine points on six attempts and picked up two boards and three dimes.

The 76ers had 28 interior points, 11 in the open court, four on extra tries, 15 after turnovers and nine from the reserves.

Maxey, channeling The Answer, Allen Iverson, tallied 24 points on 10 of 15 attempts, with five rebounds and seven assists. Embiid notched 21 marks on 61.5% accuracy, with three rebounds, an assist and a block. And Oubre supplied six points on six tries and recovered five boards.

Past the halfway mark of the third, the Heat was still down 10 points. Subsequently, the home squad finished the interval on a 17-6 run- Adebayo cashed a left-side fadeaway over Reed; Butler scored twice at close range; Jović splashed a tray; JJJ canned a seven-footer in the lane; and Rozier raced from coast to coast for a reverse layup and made a transition three.

The fourth quarter started with the Heat up 88-87. Butler dribbled left past Batum for a layup and converted a lob on the other side. Kevin Love added seven of his 11 points early in the frame. But after Butler made two freebies, putting the Heat ahead by eight with 6:28 left, the unit got sloppy.

The hosts settled for jumpers and registered one of its last 11 ventures. As they were falling apart, the 76ers got stronger, rattling off 13 unanswered points to snatch control- Maxey killed the zone with a step-back jumper on the right side over JJJ and Highsmith then connected on another on the opposite baseline facing Rozier; KJ Martin got inside for a deuce; Oubre dashed into the lane for a basket and made a three on consecutive possessions and later downed a one more trifecta.

At that point, the Heat’s confidence was fractured. The group followed up with two turnovers by Butler and Highsmith and a miss by the former, trying to go for the win with a three while down two.

The Heat lost 105-109. The squad accumulated 44 paint points, 24 on the break, 14 via second chances, 20 after turnovers and 36 from the bench.

Rozier scored 22 points on seven of 20 attempts, with two rebounds, two assists, one steal and three turnovers. Butler produced 20 on his ledger, accurate on 41.2% of his tries and picked up four rebounds and five dimes. And Highsmith had 12 points on five of seven looks, with nine rebounds, two assists, four steals and a block.

The 76ers amassed 38 interior points, 17 in the open court, 10 on extra tries, 23 after turnovers and 17 from the reserves.

Maxey generated 37 points, filing 15 of 26 shots and recovering nine rebounds, 11 assists, one steal and a block. Embiid had 29 on his scorecard on 44% accuracy, with four rebounds, three dimes, one steal and a block. And Oubre distributed 18 points on 14 attempts and had eight rebounds, two steals and a block.

At the postgame presser, Adebayo said, “[The 76ers] got us out of routine offense, and also, I feel like we [were] careless with the ball. [We] weren’t really detailed at the end of the day.”

Butler spoke on what the Heat need to do. He said, “Win, and everything will take care of itself. Win and we don’t need to worry about anyone else.”

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