Mateo’s Hoop Diary: Jimmy Butler sinks game-winner, and the Heat survive the Bulls’ fourth-quarter flurry

What a surprise! The Heat are a sharp team when Jimmy Butler attacks from the jump.

In the first half, the Heat cruised to a 15-point lead over the Bulls behind Kevin Love’s five triples, Jimmy Butler’s assault of the rim, and Duncan Robinson setting up his teammates four times. Yet at the half, the hosts were ahead only by one as Chicago registered second opportunities + fastbreak scorers while Miami kept launching inefficiently in frame two.

Following Butler’s early storm, he was quiet in nearly six second-quarter minutes as Miami was getting lit up from deep because it abandoned the corners and right wing. Chicago’s Patrick Williams splashed three of four trifectas but, more notably, had a vicious jam over Jaime Jaquez Jr.

A promising start had fizzled into a laboring match due to a faltering offense, frustrating fans as the Heat closed the half on a 2-8 run in the last three minutes. At intermission, Miami led 58-57, with 10 points off turnovers. Its biggest weakness was protecting the defensive glass, permitting Chicago 43.5% of available offensive rebounds.

In the third quarter, the offense was powerless halfway through the period. Butler then recorded four of five field goals, curling around a pick for a jumper and attacking Cobi White twice and a fastbreak layup with the full-court assist by Love. White Hot’s next scoring leader of the quarter was Duncan Robinson, with triples behind a handoff at the top of the key and a pop after the screen on the right wing.

But for the Bulls, Williams continued his Kawhi Leonard impersonation. DeMar DeRozan maneuvered into the lane using high PNR and a double pick to pull up behind the line over JJJ. Yet, its spark plug, White, who was one out of seven from the court, wouldn’t activate until the last interval.

The Heat began the fourth quarter ahead by 11. Subsequently, it had its worst defensive sequence of the evening. White shredded the protections at the top from Highsmith and Butler, getting into the lane for layups and hoisting over openings for 18 points on six of eight attempts. DeRozan was outplaying Butler late, with an extra 11 on his scorecard, cutting through the zone, posting up on the block and driving past his Miami counterpart for a scoop layup plus the foul. The latter gave the Bulls its first lead of the quarter.

On the next possession, Kyle Lowry missed a left-wing 3-pointer, giving Miami its fourth-straight brick, but Caleb Martin bolted from the right side, elevating for a putback over Ayo Dosunmu and White. The Heat was now down 110-111.

Following Dosunmu’s missed layup over Lowry, Miami’s lead guard tried his runner through the middle. Nevertheless, Butler was there to clean up his miss, recapturing the lead with a putback. Twelve seconds later, White buried a tray on the left side when Butler over-helped in the center.

The Heat responded with Jaquez recovering Butler’s failed triple and cutting back through the lane for a dunk when the ball swung back to him. The visitors had a final answer: White speeding into the paint for a two-foot bank shot, claiming Chicago’s 116-114 lead.

Both teams went scoreless for the next minute. DeRozan, with possession, had his back turned at the left wing, then Butler swooped in, looting the ball and getting it to Lowry for a break lay-in. The Heat got the ball back for a last attempt after Nikola Vucevic failed to score past Love from the top to the cup.

After Butler picked up the defensive rebound, he dribbled up the court as the game clock ticked away by itself. First, DeRozan covered him, but he used a double screen to hunt White, broke him down, stepped back, and pulled up 20 feet away for the win against his old team as the horn buzzed through Kaseya Center.

The Heat won 118-116. Forty-four of Miami’s points came in the interior, 15 were on the break and 10 on second chances. Butler had 28 points on 50% shooting with four rebounds, two assists and two steals.

He walked to the locker room, unconcerned with his doing the on-court postgame interview. Love, who crossed the 15K threshold in scoring during the night (15,006-regular season), handled it for him. He said it was a “beautiful” experience with both teams giving each other life and coming down to Butler late. “Best closer in the game. It was an unbelievable shot…those are the type of games we need to win, especially on our home floor.”

At the press conference, coach Erik Spoelstra said it was a no-brainer to not call a timeout on the last possession. “I think the entire area code felt fine with [Butler] making that decision… that was a heck of a play from [Butler].